concatenation

American  

[kon-kat-n-ey-shuhn] / kɒnˌkæt nˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of linking together in a chain; concatenating.

   The network is formed by the concatenation of nodes.

2. the state of being concatenated; connection, as in a chain.

   The concatenation of component elements in the power grid makes the system vulnerable to cyber attacks.

3. a series of interconnected or interdependent things or events.

   Human history is a concatenation of power struggles and people trying to survive.

4. Also called string concatenation.  Computers. the process of joining strings of characters or data into a continuous series with no gaps.

   Due to string concatenation, the program reads “may be” and “maybe” as the same.

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concatenation British  

/ kɒnˌkætɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. a series of interconnected events, concepts, etc

2. the act of linking together or the state of being joined

3. logic a function that forms a single string of symbols from two given strings by placing the second after the first

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Etymology

Origin of concatenation

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Late Latin concatēnātiōn- (stem of concatēnātiō ), equivalent to concatēnāt(us) “linked together, connected” + -iōn- noun suffix; see concatenate, -ation

Explanation

Concatenation refers to a series of things — ideas, events, animals — that are somehow interconnected, individual parts that are linked to form a single unit, like the links in a chain. If you think about a chain, you can imagine the individual links — they move separately, yet are linked so they always move together as well. This aptly describes concatenation, the state of several things being bound together. We can see the meaning from the word's source, the Latin concatēnāre. It comes from catēnāre, "to make a chain, to link," which itself comes from catena, "a chain." Add the prefix con-, meaning "together," and we get the meaning "to link together."

Example Sentences

An example of such a concatenation is: x ∧ ¬x.

From Scientific American • Sep. 12, 2023

The term quasar is a concatenation of quasi-stellar radio source — so called because when they were first identified, astronomers like Hong-Yee Chiu, who coined the term, were completely baffled by these strange interstellar objects.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2023

That underpainting, rather than continuous from edge to edge across the surface, is a concatenation of independent patches, all different.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2022

A concatenation of many things gave Mr. Haggerty the unusual — he frequently called it “absurd” — inclination to make gay country music.

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2022

The concatenation, or linking together, of circumstances, in that remarkable case, was very extraordinary.

From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old