constant

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con·stant / ˈkänstənt/ • adj. occurring continuously over a period of time: the pain is constant. ∎  remaining the same over a period of time. ∎  (of a person) unchangingly faithful and dependable. • n. a situation or state of affairs that does not change: the condition of struggle remained a constant. ∎  Math. a quantity or parameter that does not change its value whatever the value of the variables, under a given set of conditions. ∎  Physics a number expressing a relation or property that remains the same in all circumstances, or for the same substance under the same conditions. DERIVATIVES: con·stant·ly adv.

Constant ♂ Medieval form of the Late Latin name Constans ‘steadfast’ (genitive Constantis). This was not a common name in the Middle Ages, but was used particularly in the Maude family. The vernacular variant Costin is also found. The name was taken up more widely among Christians from the 17th century onwards, partly because of its transparent meaning and partly as expressing a determination to follow the exhortations of St Peter: ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist stedfast (constant) in the faith’ (1 Peter 5:8–9).

Constant ( Constant A. Nieuwenhuys) (1920– ). Dutch painter, sculptor, draughtsman, and printmaker, born in Amsterdam, where he studied at the Academy, 1939–42. He was a member of the Cobra group of Expressionist painters, but from the early 1950s he turned more to Constructivist sculpture. From 1956 to 1969 he devoted much of his time to work on an ideal urban project, Nieuw Babylon (New Babylon), for which he made many designs and models. In the 1970s he returned to painting.

constant In mathematics, a quantity or factor that does not change. It may be universal, such as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, or it may be particular, such as a symbol that has a fixed value in an algebraic equation.

constant steadfast XIV; invariable XVI. — (O)F. — L. constāns, -ant-, prp. of constāre stand firm; cf. COST, STAND, and see -ANT.
So constancy XVI. — L. constantia.

constant
1. A quantity or data item whose value does not change.

2. A value that is determined by its denotation, i.e. a literal.

Constant ♂ (French) From Late Latin.

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