Fractal

adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having the form of a fractal; having to do with fractals. not-comparable

    "Romanesco was my gateway cauli and I've never stopped growing it. Not a variety as much as its own thing, Romanesco is a cauliflower to the French, a calabrese to the Italians. […] Visually, it may be the most remarkable thing you can grow: it is made up of lime-green mini-spirals that coil around themselves in fractal formation."

  2. 2
    Exhibiting a fractal-like property. broadly, figuratively, not-comparable, sometimes

    "A fractal situation emerges in this way then: the consequences of Ulysses' decision to abandon Calypso are not entirely predictable."

Noun
  1. 1
    A mathematical set that has a non-integer and constant Hausdorff dimension, corresponding to a geometric figure or object that is self-similar at arbitrarily small scales and thus has infinite complexity.
  2. 2
    (mathematics) a geometric pattern that is repeated at every scale and so cannot be represented by classical geometry wordnet
  3. 3
    An object, system, or idea that exhibits a fractal-like property, such as the property of self-similarity at numerous but not infinitely many scales. broadly

    "In essence, you are assuming that each segment of a company is a fractal of the whole[…]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From French fractal, from Latin fractus (“broken”), perfect passive participle of frangō (“break, fragment”).

Etymology 2

From French fractal, from Latin fractus (“broken”), perfect passive participle of frangō (“break, fragment”).

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