Main Entry: com·po·si·tion

Pronunciation: \ˌkäm-pə-ˈzi-shən\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English composicioun, from Anglo-French composicion, from Latin composition-, compositio, from componere

Date: 14th century

1 a : the act or process of composing; specifically : arrangement into specific proportion or relation and especially into artistic form b (1) : the arrangement of type for printing <hand composition> (2) : the production of type or typographic characters (as in photocomposition) arranged for printing
2 a : the manner in which something is composed b : general makeup <the changing ethnic composition of the city — Leonard Buder> c : the qualitative and quantitative makeup of a chemical compound
3 : mutual settlement or agreement
4 : a product of mixing or combining various elements or ingredients
5 : an intellectual creation: as a : a piece of writing; especially : a school exercise in the form of a brief essay b : a written piece of music especially of considerable size and complexity
6 : the quality or state of being compound
7 : the operation of forming a composite function; also : composite function

— com·po·si·tion·al \-ˈzish-nəl, -ˈzi-shə-n^əl\ adjective

— com·po·si·tion·al·ly adverb