fractal

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English[edit]

A Julia set fractal

Etymology[edit]

From French fractal, from Latin fractus (broken), perfect passive participle of frangō (break, fragment).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈfɹæk.təl/
  • (file)
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -æktəl

Noun[edit]

fractal (plural fractals)

  1. (mathematics) A mathematical set that has a non-integer and constant Hausdorff dimension; a geometric figure that is self-similar at all scales.
  2. (figurative) An object, system, or idea that exhibits a fractal-like property.
    • 1999, John J. McGonagle, Carolyn M. Vella, The Internet Age of Competitive Intelligence, →ISBN:
      In essence, you are assuming that each segment of a company is a fractal of the whole []

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Romanesco, a vegetable related to broccoli and cauliflower made up of mini-spirals in fractal formation

fractal (not comparable)

  1. (mathematics) Having the form of a fractal.
    • 2015 January 26, Mark Diacono, “How to grow and cook cauliflower, 2015's trendiest veg: Tricky to grow, boring to boil ... so why is the outmoded cauliflower back at the culinary cutting edge? [print version: Cauliflower power, 24 January 2015, pp. G1 & G3]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)[1]:
      Romanesco was my gateway cauli and I've never stopped growing it. Not a variety as much as its own thing, Romanesco is a cauliflower to the French, a calabrese to the Italians. [] Visually, it may be the most remarkable thing you can grow: it is made up of lime-green mini-spirals that coil around themselves in fractal formation.
  2. (figurative) Exhibiting a fractal-like property.
    • 2007, Vincent Spina, “Three Central American writers: alone between two cultures”, in Carlota Caulfield, Darién J. Davis, editors, Companion to United States Latino Literatures, →ISBN:
      A fractal situation emerges in this way then: the consequences of Ulysses' decision to abandon Calypso are not entirely predictable.
    • 2020, Frank E. Zachos, Les Christidis, Stephen Garnett, “The Tree of Life, however, is an encaptic system displaying a nested hierarchy with a fractal pattern (lineages within lineages).”, in Mammalia, volume 84, number 1, page 2:

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Commons
Commons
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Anagrams[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

fractal f (plural fractals)

  1. fractal

Adjective[edit]

fractal m or f (masculine and feminine plural fractals)

  1. fractal

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Coined by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975, from Latin fractus +‎ -al.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

fractal (feminine fractale, masculine plural fractals or fractaux, feminine plural fractales)

  1. fractal

Noun[edit]

fractal m (plural fractals or fractaux)

  1. (rare) Synonym of fractale

Portuguese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • fratal (Portugal, nonstandard)

Pronunciation[edit]

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /fɾakˈtaw/ [fɾakˈtaʊ̯], /fɾa.kiˈtaw/ [fɾa.kiˈtaʊ̯]
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /fɾakˈtaw/ [fɾakˈtaʊ̯]
 
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /fɾaˈktal/ [fɾaˈktaɫ], /fɾaˈtal/ [fɾaˈtaɫ]
    • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /fɾaˈkta.li/, /fɾaˈta.li/

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: frac‧tal

Noun[edit]

fractal m (plural fractais)

  1. (mathematics) fractal (self-similar geometric figure)

Spanish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /fɾaɡˈtal/ [fɾaɣ̞ˈt̪al]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: frac‧tal

Adjective[edit]

fractal m or f (masculine and feminine plural fractales)

  1. fractal

Further reading[edit]