perturbation

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French perturbation, from Old French perturbacion, from Latin perturbatio

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

perturbation (countable and uncountable, plural perturbations)

1. (uncountable) Agitation; the state of being perturbed
   • 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume I, chapter 5:

     But her mind had never been in such perturbation; and it needed a very strong effort to appear attentive and cheerful till the usual hour of separating allowed her the relief of quiet reflection.

2. (countable) A small change in a physical system, or more broadly any definable system (such as a biological or economic system)
   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Youth and Age. XLII.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC, pages 247–248:

     Natures that haue much Heat, and great and violent deſires and Perturbations, are not ripe for Action, till they haue paſſed the Meridian of their yeares: As it was with Iulius Cæſar, and Septimius Seuerus.

3. (countable, astronomy, physics) Variation in an orbit due to the influence of external bodies
   • 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume I, chapter 5:

     Emma is spoiled by being the cleverest of her family. At ten years old, she had the misfortune of being able to answer questions which puzzled her sister at seventeen. She was always quick and assured: Isabella slow and diffident.

Related terms

• perturb
• perturbatory

Translations

agitation

• German: Störung (de) f
• Hungarian: zavar (hu)
• Italian: perturbazione (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: perturbação (pt) f
• Spanish: perturbación (es) f

a small change in a physical system or any definable system

• Esperanto: perturbo
• Hungarian: perturbáció
• Ido: perturbo (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: perturbazione (it) f
• Russian: пертурбация (ru) f (perturbacija)
• Spanish: perturbación (es) f

variation in an orbit

• Hungarian: perturbáció
• Italian: perturbazione (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 摂動 (せつどう, setsudō)
• Spanish: perturbación (es) f

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin perturbatio, perturbationem.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

perturbation f (plural perturbations)

1. disturbance
2. derangement

Related terms

• perturber

Further reading

• “perturbation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.