symmetry

English

Etymology

From Latin symmetria, from Ancient Greek συμμετρία (summetría), from σύμμετρος (súmmetros, “symmetrical”), from σύν (sún, “with”) + μέτρον (métron, “measure”). By surface analysis, sym- +‎ -metry.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪmɪtɹi/, enPR: sĭʹmĭtrĭ

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

symmetry (countable and uncountable, plural symmetries)

1. Exact correspondence on either side of a dividing line, plane, center or axis.
2. The satisfying arrangement of a balanced distribution of the elements of a whole.
   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.

Derived terms

• antisymmetry
• axis of symmetry
• bilateral symmetry
• bisymmetry
• center of symmetry
• centre of symmetry
• centrosymmetry
• CPT symmetry
• dissymmetry
• eigensymmetry
• hypersymmetry
• information symmetry
• Lorentz symmetry
• mirror symmetry
• monosymmetry
• orbital symmetry
• order of symmetry
• persymmetry
• plane of symmetry
• polysymmetry
• presymmetry
• pseudosymmetry
• quasisymmetry
• radial symmetry
• radiosymmetry
• rotational symmetry
• skew symmetry
• skew-symmetry
• subsymmetry
• supersymmetry
• symlet
• symmetrical
• symmetrise
• symmetrism
• symmetrist
• symmetrize
• symmetro-
• symmetron
• symmetry group
• symmetry plane
• T-symmetry
• unsymmetry

 

Related terms

• asymmetric
• asymmetry
• symmetric
• symmetrophobia

Translations

correspondence on either side of a dividing line, plane, center or axis

• Arabic: تَنَاظُر m (tanāẓur)
• Belarusian: сіме́трыя f (simjétryja)
• Bulgarian: симе́трия (bg) f (simétrija)
• Catalan: simetria (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 對稱性 / 对称性 (zh) (duìchēngxìng), 對稱 / 对称 (zh) (duìchēng)

• Czech: souměrnost f, symetrie f
• Danish: symmetri c
• Dutch: symmetrie (nl) f
• Esperanto: simetrio
• Estonian: sümmeetria
• Finnish: symmetria (fi)
• French: symétrie (fr) f
• Galician: simetría (gl) f
• Georgian: სიმეტრია (simeṭria)
• German: Symmetrie (de) f
• Greek: συμμετρία (el) f (symmetría)

  Ancient: συμμετρία f (summetría)

• Hawaiian: ʻālikelike
• Hindi: सममिति (hi) (sammiti)
• Hungarian: szimmetria (hu)
• Indonesian: simetris (id)
• Irish: siméadracht f
• Italian: simmetria (it) f
• Japanese: 対称性 (ja) (たいしょうせい, taishōsei), 対称 (ja) (たいしょう, taishō), シンメトリー (ja) (shinmetorī)
• Kazakh: симметрия (simmetriä)
• Korean: 대칭성 (ko) (daechingseong), 대칭 (ko) (daeching)
• Latin: symmetria f
• Latvian: simetrija f
• Lithuanian: simetrija f
• Macedonian: симе́трија f (simétrija)
• Maori: hangarite
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: symmetri m

  Nynorsk: symmetri m

• Ottoman Turkish: اعتدال (i’tidâl)
• Persian: تقارن (fa) (taqâron)
• Polish: symetria (pl) f
• Portuguese: simetria (pt) f
• Romanian: simetrie (ro) f
• Russian: симме́трия (ru) f (simmétrija)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: simètrija (sh) f

• Slovak: súmernosť f, symetria f
• Slovene: simetrija f
• Spanish: simetría (es) f
• Swedish: symmetri (sv) c
• Tagalog: parianyo
• Telugu: సౌస్టవం (sausṭavaṁ)
• Thai: ความสมมาตร (kwaam-sŏm-mâat)
• Ukrainian: симе́трія f (symétrija)
• Vietnamese: sự đối xứng

satisfying arrangement of a balanced distribution of the elements of a whole

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: tasapaino (fi)
• French: symétrie (fr) f
• Galician: simetría (gl) f
• Georgian: სიმეტრია (simeṭria)
• Indonesian: simetri (id)
• Irish: siméadracht f
• Italian: simmetria (it) f
• Macedonian: симе́трија f (simétrija)
• Maori: hangarite
• Polish: symetria (pl) f
• Portuguese: simetria (pt) f
• Russian: симме́трия (ru) f (simmétrija)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: simètrija (sh) f

• Slovene: simetrija f
• Thai: ความสมดุล (kwaam-sà-má-dun)