permutation
noun /ˌpɜːmjuˈteɪʃn/
/ˌpɜːrmjuˈteɪʃn/
[usually plural]- any of the different ways in which a set of things can be ordered
- The possible permutations of x, y and z are xyz, xzy, yxz, yzx, zxy and zyx.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘exchange, barter’): via Old French from Latin permutatio(n-), from the verb permutare ‘change completely’, from per- ‘through, completely’ + mutare ‘to change’.