equivalent
See also: équivalent
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin aequivalentem, accusative singular of aequivalēns, present active participle of aequivaleō (“to be equivalent, have equal power”). By surface analysis, equi- + -valent.
Mostly displaced native Middle English efenmete.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]equivalent (comparative more equivalent, superlative most equivalent)
- Similar or identical in value, meaning or effect; virtually equal.
- Synonyms: on a par, equipollent (formal)
- To burn calories, a thirty-minute jog is equivalent to a couple of hamburgers.
- 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
- For now to serve and to minister, servile and ministerial, are terms equivalent.
- 2012 March, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist[1], volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
- A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.
- 2024 November 15, Kristen Rogers, “Want to live an extra 5 to 10 years? Adopt this habit, study suggests”, in CNN[2], archived from the original on 11 July 2025:
- Total activity levels in the lowest quartile were equivalent to walking for 49 minutes at roughly 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) per hour daily. Total activity levels in the second-, third- and fourth-highest quartiles were equivalent to 78, 105 and 160 minutes, respectively.
- (mathematics) Of two sets, having a one-to-one correspondence.
- Synonym: equinumerous
- 1950, E. Kamke, Theory of Sets, page 16:
- All enumerable sets are equivalent to each other, but not to any finite set.
- 2000, N. L. Carothers, Real Analysis, page 18:
- Equivalent sets should, by rights, have the same "number" of elements. For this reason we sometimes say that equivalent sets have the same cardinality.
- 2006, Joseph Breuer, Introduction to the Theory of Sets, page 41:
- The equivalence theorem: If both M is equivalent to a subset N1 of N and N is equivalent to a subset M1 of M, then the sets M and N are equivalent to each other.
- (mathematics) Relating to the corresponding elements of an equivalence relation.
- (mathematics, category theory) Of two categories, (informally) such that one is essentially a relabeling of the other; (formally) related by a pair of functors such the composition of the one with the other is naturally isomorphic to the identity functor.
- (chemistry) Having the equal ability to combine.
- (cartography) Of a map, equal-area.
- (geometry) Equal in measure but not admitting of superposition; applied to magnitudes.
- A square may be equivalent to a triangle.
Usage notes
[edit]- In mathematics, this adjective can be used in phrases like “A and B are equivalent”, “A is equivalent to B”, and, less commonly, “A is equivalent with B”.
Derived terms
[edit]- background radiation equivalent time
- banana equivalent dose
- biequivalent
- bioequivalent
- carbon dioxide equivalent
- car equivalent unit
- cyberequivalent
- equivalent airspeed
- equivalent dose
- equivalentist
- equivalently
- equivalent potential temperature
- equivalent shaft horsepower
- equivalent variation
- equivalent weight
- flight-time equivalent dose
- forty-foot equivalent unit
- gramme equivalent
- inequivalent
- jeu de taquin equivalent
- macroequivalent
- microequivalent
- milliequivalent
- Morita-equivalent
- nanoequivalent
- nonequivalent
- non-union Mexican equivalent
- NP-equivalent
- osmoequivalent
- quasiequivalent
- row-equivalent
- space equivalent zone
- tissue equivalent material
- twenty-foot equivalent unit
Translations
[edit]similar or identical in value
|
of two sets, having a one-to-one relationship
|
relating to the corresponding elements of an equivalence relation
|
equal-area — see equal-area
Noun
[edit]equivalent (plural equivalents)
- Anything that is virtually equal to something else, or has the same value, force, etc.
- Coordinate term: counterpart
- He's the Italian equivalent of a district attorney.
- 1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter VII, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
- He owned that, if the Test Act were repealed, the Protestants were entitled to an equivalent, and went so far as to suggest several equivalents.
- 1977 April 18, Jimmy Carter, President's Address to the Nation on Proposed National Energy Policy:
- Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of war" — except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy.
- (chemistry) An equivalent weight.
Usage notes
[edit]- Sometimes the noun equivalent to denote a comparable option is assailed for falsely implying absence of difference (false equivalence); when this problem arises, the noun counterpart, or a collocation such as rough equivalent or near equivalent, is sometimes a less misleading choice. In some contexts, the nouns analog or homolog are apt.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]anything that is virtually equal to something else
|
equivalent weight — see equivalent weight
Verb
[edit]equivalent (third-person singular simple present equivalents, present participle equivalenting, simple past and past participle equivalented)
- (transitive) To make equivalent to; to equal.
Catalan
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]Learned borrowing from Latin aequivalentem. First attested in 1696.[1]
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): (Northern) [ə.ki.βəˈle̞n]
- IPA(key): (Balearic) [ə.ki.vəˈlent]
- IPA(key): (Central) [ə.ki.βəˈlen]
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [e.ki.vaˈlent]
- IPA(key): (Northwestern) [e.ki.βaˈlen]
Adjective
[edit]equivalent m or f (masculine and feminine plural equivalents)
Related terms
[edit]Noun
[edit]equivalent m (plural equivalents)
References
[edit]- ^ “equivalent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
Further reading
[edit]- “equivalent”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
- “equivalent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “equivalent”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)
Etymology 2
[edit]Verb
[edit]equivalent
- gerund of equivaldre
- gerund of equivaler
Dutch
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Middle French équivalent, from Latin aequivalēns.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]equivalent (not comparable)
Declension
[edit]| Declension of equivalent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | equivalent | |||
| inflected | equivalente | |||
| comparative | — | |||
| positive | ||||
| predicative/adverbial | equivalent | |||
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | equivalente | ||
| n. sing. | equivalent | |||
| plural | equivalente | |||
| definite | equivalente | |||
| partitive | equivalents | |||
Derived terms
[edit]Noun
[edit]equivalent n (plural equivalenten, no diminutive)
Descendants
[edit]- → Indonesian: ekuivalen, ekuivalensi
Occitan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Latin aequivalēns.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]equivalent m (feminine singular equivalenta, masculine plural equivalents, feminine plural equivalentas)
Related terms
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂welh₁- (rule)
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms prefixed with equi-
- English terms suffixed with -valent
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Mathematics
- en:Category theory
- en:Chemistry
- en:Cartography
- en:Geometry
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- Catalan learned borrowings from Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan terms borrowed from Latin
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan adjectives
- Catalan epicene adjectives
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan masculine nouns
- ca:Chemistry
- Catalan non-lemma forms
- Catalan gerunds
- Dutch terms borrowed from Middle French
- Dutch terms derived from Middle French
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛnt
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch adjectives
- Dutch uncomparable adjectives
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch countable nouns
- Dutch neuter nouns
- Occitan terms derived from Latin
- Occitan terms with audio pronunciation
- Occitan lemmas
- Occitan adjectives