Main Entry: ¹com·mute

Pronunciation: \kə-ˈmyüt\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): com·mut·ed; com·mut·ing

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin commutare to change, exchange, from com- + mutare to change — more at mutable

Date: 15th century

transitive verb 1 a : change, alter b : to give in exchange for another : exchange
2 : to convert (as a payment) into another form
3 : to change (a penalty) to another less severe <commute a death sentence to life in prison>
4 : commutateintransitive verb 1 : make up, compensate
2 : to pay in gross
3 : to travel back and forth regularly (as between a suburb and a city)
4 : to yield the same mathematical result regardless of order —used of two elements undergoing an operation or of two operations on elements

— com·mut·able \-ˈmyü-tə-bəl\ adjective