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VARIATE.
termed * variants ' ; that U, merely a different way of forming
the same letter. i86z Rawlinson Anc. Afon. Chaldsa
I. 143 II, of course, is but a variant of El. 1869 Ellis £.£".
Pronunc. i. iv.248 Other variants of course occur from carelessness,
1869 Rawlinson -4 WiT. Hist. 336 The names seem,
however, to be chiefly variants of the general ethnic title.
b. A various reading.
1861 Paley Aeschylus (ed. 2), Agam. 1116 note. The variants
-orro and -ocres only show that a termination was added
to the original -oc. 1881 Westcott & Hort Grk. N. T.
Introd. § 3 The primary work of textual criticism is merely
to discriminate the erroneous variants from the true.
2. A variation of the original work, story, song, etc.
1871 Ralston Songs Russian Peopleynoo There are many
variants of the same song, but they do not differ materially.
1877 ftliss A. B. Edwards Up Nile Pref. p. xiii. Religious
books, variants of the Ritual, moral essays, maxims. 1885
Clodd Myths 9f Dr. r. iv. 70 They are the variants of stories
presumably related in the Arj'an fatherland.
3. Nat. Hist. A variant form or type.
1895 in Funk's Stand. Diet.
tVa'riate,
'i^- Obs. [ad.L. z;ar/(z/-«j, pa. pple,
of varidre to Vary.] a. Diversified, variegated.
b. Varied in nature.
c 1440 Pailcui. on Hush. xii. 52 01>*ue is puld of colour
variate. 1677 Galk Crt. Gentiles iv. 254 The divine effulgence
and operation is one essence, both simple and impartible,
and boniforme in things partible variate (as to
operation).
t Va riate, v. Obs. [a. L. variat-, ppl. stem of
varidre : see prec]
1. trans. To produce a modification, variation, or
change in (something) ; to alter, cause to change.
1566 Painter Pal. Pleas, i. C1569) 105 b, The perfection of
that which thus doth variat and alter bothe my thoughts and
passions. Ibid. 11. 128 The examples also of sutch diversity
do variate and make diverse the affections of men. 1653
GaI'den Hierasp. Pref. 2 Others, .study to variate and
shift the extern forms and models of Religion. X701 Beverley
Praise o/Glory o/Grace 45 Not Variating this Enquiry
into the Multiplicity of the Lesser and more Particular
Causes. 1770 Baretti Joum. Land, to Genoa I. xxi. i6a
Female dress is no where variated so much as.. in this
country.
2. intr. To vary or change.
1591 SYLVEST^iR Dii Bartas i. iL 435 That which we touch,
with times doth variate. Now hot, now cold.
Hence + Va'riated///. a. ;
f Va*riating vbl. sb.
and ppl. a. Obs.
1608 J. Kino Serm. 5 Nov. 33 What was the cause of their
multiplied, variated complotments against hir? 1653 Gauden
Hierasp. 22 Their -shtftings and variatings from one living
to another. Ibid. 28 Who runs like a Badger, with variating
and unequal motions. i6
ing its variating infirmities.
Variation (ve»ri^-j3n). Forms : 5 varyacyoune,
-oio(u)n, 6 -cyon ; 5 variaoioun, 5-6
-cion, 6 -cyon, -tioon, 6- variation, [a. OF.
variation^ -acion (F. variation^ = Sp. variaciorty
Pg. variofdOy It. variazione., a. L. variation-^
varidtio, n. of action f. varidre to Varv.]
I. 1 1. Difference, divergence, or discrepancy
between two or more things or persons. Obs.
c 1386 Chaucer A*«/.'f T'. 1730 In al the world.. So even
withoute variacioun Therneresuchecompanyes tweye. 14*6
I.VDO. De Guil. Pilgr. 20066, I sey also.. That ther be..
Many constellaciouns And many varyaciouns. 1460 Cap<
GRAVE Chrofi. (Rolls) 48 Here is for to noten that their is
grete varlacion amongst auctourcs, both of ^eres and of
Kyngis names. 1480 Caxton Myrr. ii. i. 65 This present
fygure is..dcmonstraunce certayne and trewe, without ony
variacion ne doubtaunce. 1553 Edem Treat. Neiu Ind. ( Arb.)
42 A clyme is a porcion ofthe worlde betwene South and
North, wherein is variacion in length ofthe daye, the space
of halfe an houre. i6a8 T. Spescer Logick 68 Health,.
dtssenteth from a man that is sicke, by reason of that distance,
or variatijn, which ariseth from sickncs. a 1637 B.
JoMSON Discoveries Wks. 1640 1 1. 106 There is a great variation
l>etweene him, that is rais'd to the soveraignity by the
favour of his Peeres, and him that comes to it by the suffrage
of the pet^plc.
t2. Discord, variance, dissension ; an instance of
thi?;. Obs. rare.
c 1485 Dighy Myst. (1882) MI. 923 Be-twyx yowand me be
never varj'acyouncs. '5*3 Lt)- Bebnehs Froiss. I. cccxivi.
548 Thus the Christen reaTmes were in vartacyon, and the
churches in great dyfference, bycause of the popes.
+ 3. a. Uncertainty, doubt. Ob5.~'^
1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommcr) 38 In this sorow and in
this payne and varyacion. .Vesca, Abell and the damoysel
Were a longe tyme.
t b. Inconstancy ; variableness.
1509 Hawes Past, Pleas, xix. (Percy Soc.) 88 My heart
shall be without variacion Wyth you present, in perfite
sykerncs. f 1530 Crt. 0/ Love 1340, L.depely swere as
minepower to bene Faithful deuoide of variacion.
II. 4. The fact of varying in condition, character,
degree, or other quality; the fact of undergoing
modification or alteration, especially within certain
limits.-
I50J Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) v. vi, In shynyngc
vatyac^'on of dyuers coloures. 1513 Bradshaw St.
Werburge 1. 1340 This present lyfe.-rfow drcdefull it is,
full of varyac^'on. 1555 Eden Decades {^Kth.") 45 Parallcles,
are lines whereby the sonne passynge causeth variation of
tyme. 1579 Fenton Guicciard. i. (1599) 15 I^t vs looke
M)mewhat intrj the variation of times and things of the world.
1637 Nabbes Micrpcosmus fi, Two kisses more will cloy
me; nought can relish Bat variation. 1674 Bovle Excell.
Theol. II, V. 214 According to the varying gravity of the
atmosphere: which variation has,. a very considerable in-
VOL. X.
49
fluence on the weather-glass. 1750 tr. Leonardtts' Mirr.
Stones 53 As is held by many learned men wlio have written
of the variation of the air. 1785 G. A. Bellamy Apology
(ed. 3) i. 67 Lest you accuse me of a want of variation in the
conclusion of my letters, I shall end this in the good oldfashion
way. i8z3 Miss M. A. Kelty Osmond I. 36 In this
variation of feeling the morning.. wore away. 184S G. E.
Day tr. SimofCs Anim. Client. I. 246 From these data, it
appears, that, .the variation is the most striking with regard
to the fibrinand globulin. i88s,Watson & Burburv Math.
Tk. Electr. \ Magn. 1. 96 In order to effect this object the
charge upon the conductor must be capable of variation.
b. The action of making some change or
alteration.
a 1704 T. Bhown Satire Antients Wks. 1730 I. 14 They
used in other words the same variation of the letter u into i,
as maxumus, maximus. 1711 in Nairne Peerage Evidence
{1B74) 133 T,he said parties having in order therto agreed.
in the terms of the two former contracts.. without change
or variation. 1885 Latv Rep. 29 Chanc. Div. 542 I'he powers
reserved to Wilson Lomer..to control the variation of investments.
1913 Act 3 Gee. K, c, 3 § I Where a resolution
is passed, .providing for the variation of any existing tax.
5. Variation of the compass^ {f iodestone.,) or
needle, the deviation or divergence of the magnetic
needle from the true north and south line ; the
amount or angular measure of this ; = Declination
8 b.
iSS6BuRR0UGHin Hakluyt (1S86) III. 126, Iwentonshoare
and obserued the variation ofthe Compasse, which was three
degrees. 1571 Digged Pantom. 1, xxix. I ij b, Drawing a
right line making an angle. .equall to the variation of the
compasse in your region. 1613 Plrchas Pilgrimage (1614)
49 Cabot first found out the variation of the Compasse. 1679
AIoxoN Math. Did. 160 Variation o/the Needle, the Turning
or Deviation of the Needle in the Mariners Compass
[etcj. 1687 A. LovELL tr. Thevenoi's Trav. 11. 156 The
variation of the Loadstone. 1774 M. Mackenzie Maritime
Surv. 62 How to find the Sun's Azimuth, and from thence
to find the Variation of the Needle. 1834 Mrs. Somervillk
Connex, Phys. Set. (1840) xxix. 338 The variation of the
compass. 1851 Gv.^E.iiVi¥.ixCoal-tra^ 'Perms^ Nortkumb. ^
Durk. 16 The diurnal variation of the needle being far from
inconsiderable.
b. eliipt. in the same sense.
1594 Davis Searnan*s Secrets{\6oi) 17 If your Compasse be
good and without variation. 15^ W. Barlowe Navigator's
Supply A 2, By the Variation is vnderstood the difference
in the Horizon betweene the true and the magneticall Meri.
dian. x6a7 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. li. 12 There is
also, .a Compasse for the variation. 1669STURMY Mariner's
Mag. IV. L 138 The Points of the Needle, .are subject to be
drawn aside by the Guns.., or any Iron neer it, and liable
to Variation, and doth not shew the true North. 1703
Dampier I'oy. III. I. 100, 1 found that the Variation did
not always increase or decrease in proportion to the Degress
of Longitude East or West. 1769 Falconer Diet. Marine
(1780) S.V., The highest variation.. appears to be i7°i W. and
the least i6°J W. 1846 A. Young Naut. Diet. 81 The variation
is in practice ascertained by comparing the sun's true
and magnetic amplitude or azimuths. 1878 [see Declination
81.
O. Variation of the variation (see last quot.).
1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Variation oftlu Variation^ is
so catl'd, because the Variation of the Needle is not always
the same in the same Place. 1839 Noad Electricity
201 The variation ofthe variation, that is, the fact that the
variation was not a constant quantity, but varied in different
latitudes, was first noticed by the discoverer of America. 1867
Smyth Sailor's IVord-Bk. 710 Variation 0/ the Variation^
is the change in the declination of the needle observed at
different times in the same place.
6. The fact, on the part of the mercury, of standing
higher or lower in the tube of a barometer or
thermometer ;
the extent or range of this.
1719 QuiNcv Phys. Diet. (1722) 11 The greatest Variation
ofthe Height ofthe Mercury being 3 Inches. 1748 Anson's
Voy. II. V. 183 The variation of the thermometer at Petersburgh
is at least five times greater . . than . . at St. Catherine's.
Smith Panormna Sci. ^ Art 1 1. 28 Had the tube
1815 J.
been straight, Q would have been the limit of the scale of
variation. 18^ Laroner Hand-bk. Nat. Phil, 168 A rise
or fall of the mercury in the tube, within the usual limits of
barometric variation.
7. Astr. a. The libration of the moon; = Lib-
BATION 2.
1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Variation is, according to
Tycho, the third Inequality in the Motion of the Moon.
1718 Pemberton Netvton's Philos. 199 This inequality of
the moon's motion about the earth is called by astronomers
its variation. 1813 Woodhouse Astron.i^i^i-^)!. 11. 682 The
Variation is occasioned by the other resolved part, that
which acts in the direction of the tangent to the Moon's
orbit. 1879 Newcomb & Holden Astron. 163 The disturbing
action of the sun [upon the moon] produces a great
number of other inequalities, of which the largest are the
evection and the variation.
b. (See quot.)
1867 Smyth Sailor's IVord-Bk. 43 Annua/ Variation, the
change produced in the ri^ht ascension or declination of a
star by the precession of tnc equinoxes and proper motion
of the star taken together.
8. A/at/l. fa- = PKRMUTATION 3 b. Obs.
1710 J. Harris Lex. Techn. II, Variation, or Permutation
of Quantities, is the changing any number of given Quantities,
Math respect to their Places. 1718 Chambers Cycl. s.v.
Combination, Suppose the Quantities 3, and the Exponent
of Variation 3; the Number of Changes is found 27 — 3'.
b. Change in a function or functions of an equation
due to an indefinitely small increase or decrease
in the value of the constants.
'743 ^' Emerson Fluxions 3 The Velocity, Variation, or
Quickness of Increase (or Decrease) of any Fluxion is called
the second Fluxion. iS^^ Penny Cycl. XXW I. 136/2 Variation.
Under this head comes the explanation of a part of the
VARIATION.
language of proportion which is much used... We refer to
such plirases as the following:—A varies as B.—A varies
inversely as B. 1885 Watson & Hurbury Math. Th. Electr.
Sf Magn. I. 6 Then..« will, on arriving again at C, have
assumed by continuous variation the value ua+H.
c. Variation of curvalttre: (?ee quot. 1842).
a 1727 Newton Meth. Fluxions ^ In/. Ser. (1736) 76 The
Inequability or Variation of Curvature is required at any
Point of a Curve. 184a Francis Diet, Arts, Variation 0/
curvature, the change made on a curve, so as to occasion it
to be flatter or sharper in each succeeding part.
d. Algebra. The following of a + sign after a
— sign, or vice versa, in a row of signs.
1891 in Cent. Diet.
9. Mus. (See quot.)
1730 Treat, Harmony 34 There is another sort of Division
called Variation, which may also be upon a Division.
10. Bioi. Deviation or divergence in the structure,
character, or function of an organism from
those typical of or usual in the species or group.
1859 Darwin Orig. Spec, i. 11 There are many laws
regulating variation, some few of which can be dimly seen.
1867--8 Lyell Princ. Geol. in. xliii. (ed. 10) II. 488 If some
modification of an organ, or instinct, be produced by what
is called ' Spontaneous Variation '. 1871 Tyndall Fragm.
Sci. (1879) !'• '^' 176 No naturalist could tell how far this
variation could be carried. 1883 Vines tr. Sachs' Bot. 925
The characters of many of these varieties are perfectly
hereditary, and all the organs show the greatest degree of
variation.
Ill, 11, An instance of varying or changing
an alteration or change in something, esp. within
certain limits.
Sometimes in specific senses : cf. 5-ro above.
1611 CoTGR., Muance, change, alteration ; and particularly,
a variation, or change of notes in singing. 1659 Pearson
Creed (1839) 525 The natural course of variations in the
creature. 1665 Phil, Trans. I. 31 A Baroscope, or an instrument
to show all the Minute Variations in the Pressure
of the Air. 1719 De Foe Crusoe 11. (Globe) 486 Variations
of the Compass. 1758 Johnson /(//^r No. 11 p 11 The most
variable of all variations : the changes of the weather. 1786
Mrs. a. M. Beknett Jtwenile Indiscr. IV. 231 They.,
contrived to fill a long summer's day, or winter's evening,
by an agreeable variation of female amusements. 183a Hr.
Martineau Weal ^ Woe vii. 94 Seasons are sometimes
stormy and our commerce liable to variations. 1844 Proc.
Philol. Soc. I. 196 We may therefore be disposed to consider
all marked variations of dialect as evidences of difference of
date. 1874 tr. Lomniefs Light 181 The variations of light
and shade are alone visible.
b. A difference due to the introduction or intrusion
of some change or alteration.
1699 Bentley Phal. 36 We have the firmer ground to go
upon for this little Variation. 1787 T. Innes Anc. Inhab..
Scot, (1879) 87 Variations which the negligence as well as the
ignorance of transcribers is ordinarily the cause of. i86t
Paley Mschylns {ed, 2) SuppHces 842 note. The other MSS,
resent only slight variations. 1869 Tozer Highl. Turkey
f
I. 27a The.. stories have evidently come from the same
original, but present curious variations in the form under
which the youth is born. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 192 In
different specimens, .the lava exhibits great variations.
o. Biol, A slight departure or divergence from
a type. (Cf. 10.)
1835 LvELL Princ. Geol. \\\. ii. (ed. 4) II. 428 The phenomenon,
that some individuals are made to deviate widely
from the ordinary type, ..How far.. may such variations
extend in the course of indefinite periods of time? 1859 Darwin
Orig. Spec. Introd. 4 We shall see how great is the
power ofman in accumulating by bis Selection successive
slight variations. 1871 R. H. Hutton Ess. I. 65 An accidental
variation only means a variation of which you cannot
determine the direction. x88a Vines tr. Sachs' Bot. 777
Changes in these hereditary peculiarities, or variations, are
never brought about by direct external influences.
d. Adifferent form or species ; a variety, variant.
1863 Huxley Knmvl. Org.Nat. 99 If, by crossing a variation
with the original stock, you multiply that vari.ition,and
then take care 10 keep that v.-iriation distinct from the original
stock, and make them breed together. x868 Boy's Own
Bk. 593 The Matadore Game.. is a variation of All Fives.
1878 Browning Poets Croisic 5 Try a variation of the game I
12. A deviation or departure y>-tfff; something.
16^7 ClareN£>on Hist. keb. i. §178 Besides that any
Variation from it.. would make the Uniformity the less.
ax66j Hevlin Laud \. 223 It was best to to^ce the English
Liturgie, without any variation from it. 1782 J. Brown
Nat. ^ Rev. Relig. in. ii. 246 There often befalls it a deforming
variation from the original happy constitution. 1818
Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 208 He did not tbink fit to make
any variation from what was then determined.
13. Math. a. (Cf. 8 a.)
1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Conibination^ Suppose two
Quantities, a and b\ their VariationswiU be 2; consequently,
as each of those may be combined, even with it
self, to these there must be added two Variations.
b. Calculus of variations^ a form of calculus
applicable to expressions or functions in which the
law relating the quantities is liable to variation.
1810 Woodhouse (title), A Treatise on Isoperimetrical
Problems, and the Calculus of Variations. 1855 Brewster
Neivton I. xiii, 349 The calculus of variations discovered by
Lagrange in 1760, was the greatest step in the improvement
of the infinitesimal calculus which was made in the lastcen*
tury. i86z Todhunter {title), A History ofthe Progress of
the Calculus of Variations during the Nineteenth Century.
14. Mus. A modification with regard to the tune,
time, and harmony of a theme, by which on repetition
it appears in a new but still recognizable
form ; esp. in pi,, embellishments in an air for
giving variety
simple form.
on repetition after playing it in its
7