Main Entry:

frac·tal

Pronunciation:

\ˈfrak-t^əl\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

French fractale, from Latin fractus broken, uneven (past participle of frangere to break) + French -ale -al (noun suffix)

Date:

1975

: any of various extremely irregular curves or shapes for which any suitably chosen part is similar in shape to a given larger or smaller part when magnified or reduced to the same size

— fractal adjective