composition

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 printing2 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 compound3: mutual settlement or agreement4: a product of mixing or combining various elements or ingredients5: 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 compound7: 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

Learn more about "composition" and related topics at Britannica.com

See a map of "composition" in the Visual Thesaurus

Find Jobs in Your City

Pronunciation Symbols