constant

From Middle English constant, from Old French constant, from Latin constantem, accusative of constans, from constare (“to stand firm”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒnstənt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑnstənt/

• Audio (US)

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constant (comparative more constant, superlative most constant)

1. Unchanged through time or space; permanent.
2. Consistently recurring over time; persistent.
   • 2013 November 16, Schumpeter, “The mindfulness business”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8862:

     The constant pinging of electronic devices is driving many people to the end of their tether. Electronic devices not only overload the senses and invade leisure time. They feed on themselves: the more people tweet the more they are rewarded with followers and retweets.

3. Steady in purpose, action, feeling, etc.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Sir Philip Sidney

     Both loving one fair maid, they yet remained constant friends.

   • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare

     I am constant to my purposes.

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Dryden

     His gifts, his constant courtship, nothing gained.

4. Firm; solid; not fluid.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Robert Boyle

     If […] you mix them, you may turn these two fluid liquors into a constant body.

5. (obsolete) Consistent; logical.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare, Twelfth Night IV.ii

     I am no more mad than you are: make the trial of it with any constant question.

6. (computing, complexity theory) Bounded above by a constant.

   constant time   constant space

constant (plural constants)

1. That which is permanent or invariable.
2. (algebra) A quantity that remains at a fixed value throughout a given discussion.
3. (sciences) Any property of an experiment, determined numerically, that does not change under given circumstances.
4. (computing) An identifier that is bound to an invariant value; a fixed value given a name to aid in readability of source code.

• constantly (adv)
• constancy (n)

• (computing) literal

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /konsˈtant/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /kunsˈtan/
• Rhymes: -ant

constant (masculine and feminine plural constants)

1. constant

• constantment

constant f (plural constants)

1. constant

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃s.tɑ̃/

• audio

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• Homophone: constants

constant (feminine singular constante, masculine plural constants, feminine plural constantes)

1. constant

• constamment

• “constant” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

cōnstant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of cōnstō