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

Bogus derivations of words: America: Concatenation of the Spanish amé and rica; rough translation: “I love the wealthy.”

From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2022

Concatenation is a technique for producing a code with a larger distance from two codes with smaller distances.

From Nature • Sep. 12, 2017

Chalmers also took part in the Junius controversy, and in The Author of Junius Ascertained, from a Concatenation of Circumstances amounting to Moral Demonstration, Lond.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various