isometry

[ahy-som-i-tree]

noun

equality of measure.

Biology. equal growth rates in two parts of a developing organism.

Geography. equality with respect to height above sea level.

Mathematics. a function from one metric space onto a second metric space having the property that the distance between two points in the first space is equal to the distance between the image points in the second space.

Origin of isometry

From the Greek word isometría, dating back to 1940–45. See iso-, -metry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for isometry

isometry

noun

maths rigid motion of a plane or space such that the distance between any two points before and after this motion is unaltered

equality of height above sea level

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for isometry

1941, from Greek isometria "equality of measure," from iso- (see iso-) + metria "a measuring" (see -metry).

isometry in Science

isometry

[ī-sŏm′ĭ-trē]

Equality of measure.

Equality of elevation above sea level.

A function between two metric spaces (such as two coordinate systems) which preserves distances. A rotation or translation in a plane is an isometry, since the distances between two points on the plane remain the same after the rotation or translation.