symmetric

English

Etymology

From symmetry +‎ -ic,^[1][2] from Latin symmetria, from Ancient Greek συμμετρία (summetría).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /sɪˈmɛt.ɹɪk/

  • Audio (Southern England):

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• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /sɪˈmet.ɹɪk/

Adjective

symmetric (comparative more symmetric, superlative most symmetric)

1. Symmetrical.
2. (set theory) Of a relation R on a set S, such that xRy if and only if yRx for all members x and y of S (that is, if the relation holds between any element and a second, it also holds between the second and the first).

   "Is a sibling of" is a symmetric relation.

3. (cryptography) Using the same key (or keys that are trivially related) for both encryption and decryption.

Derived terms

• antisymmetric
• asymmetric
• axisymmetric
• axi-symmetric
• bisymmetric
• centrosymmetric
• dissymmetric
• elementary symmetric polynomial
• enantioasymmetric
• enantiosymmetric
• hypersymmetric
• isosymmetric
• merosymmetric
• monosymmetric
• nonsymmetric
• orthosymmetric
• persymmetric
• radiosymmetric
• semisymmetric
• skew symmetric
• skew-symmetric
• strongly symmetric matter
• supersymmetric
• symmetric difference
• symmetric function
• symmetric group
• symmetric matrix
• symmetric polynomial
• unsymmetric
• weakly symmetric matter

 

Related terms

• symmetry

Translations

symmetrical — see symmetrical

of a relation R on a set S, such that xRy if and only if yRx for all members x and y of S

French: symétrique (fr) f Tagalog: parinayo

See also

• reflexive
• transitive

References

1. “symmetric, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠‎, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000, archived from the original on 2023-09-19.
2. Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “symmetric”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• mycterism