involution

[ in-vuh-loo-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of involving or entangling; involvement.
2. the state of being involved.
3. something complicated.
4. Mathematics. a function that is its own inverse.
5. Botany, Zoology.
   1. a rolling up or folding in upon itself.
   2. a part so formed.
6. Biology. retrograde development; degeneration.
7. Physiology. regressive changes in the body, as those occurring with old age.
8. Anthropology, Sociology. growth without evolution, as in a growing agrarian society with increased field labor whose production mechanisms become more complex without increasing yield; diminishing returns.
9. Grammar. a complex construction in which the subject is separated from its predicate by intervening clauses or phrases.

involution

/ ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən /

noun

1. the act of involving or complicating or the state of being involved or complicated
2. something involved or complicated
3. zoology degeneration or structural deformation
4. biology an involute formation or structure
5. physiol reduction in size of an organ or part, as of the uterus following childbirth or as a result of ageing
6. an algebraic operation in which a number, variable, expression etc, is raised to a specified power Compare evolution
7. grammar an involved construction, such as one in which the subject is separated from the predicate by an additional clause

involution

/ ĭn′və-lo̅o̅′shən /

1. A mathematical operation, such as negation, which, when applied to itself, returns the original number.
2. The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.
3. A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.

Derived Forms

• ˌinvoˈlutional, adjective

Other Words From

• su·per·in·vo·lu·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of involution¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin involūtiōn- (stem of involūtiō “a rolling up; a screw, spiral”); involute, -ion

Example Sentences

Ecks was executing a series of caricatures illustrating the involution of Hodgkins' face back into a crab-apple.

From Project Gutenberg

(a) Involution forms characterised by alterations of shape (Fig. 90).

From Project Gutenberg

(b) Involution forms characterised by loss of staining power.

From Project Gutenberg

Amongst these the most marked is the formation of the embryonic rim, which is nothing less than the commencement of an involution.

From Project Gutenberg

It is very probable that there is one involution to each segment of the body between the front and hind ends of the Oviduct.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• braid
• tendril