Convolutions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A series of twists or turns in a physical path or shape; complex and intricate forms of thought or argument; the act of winding or curling in a manner that creates complexity
2. A sequence of winding curves or loops often seen in structures or patterns; the sophisticated arrangement of ideas or narratives that challenge understanding; the action or process of creating convoluted shapes or designs
3. A collection of interwoven shapes or spirals that can create visual interest; the elaborate nature of logic or reasoning that requires careful navigation; the movement by which something twists and coalesces into intricate forms

Etymology: Before it described the folds of a brain or the tangles of a bad argument, "convolution" was simply a rolling-together. It comes from Latin "convolvere", meaning "to roll together", built from "con-" ("together") and "volvere" ("to roll"). The English noun takes the Latin past participle "convolutus" and adds the suffix "-tion", the same ending found in words like "action" and "notion", so the word is essentially "convolute" with a noun ending attached. The sense of coiled, intricate shapes followed naturally from that image of things rolled up on themselves. The physical meaning of tightly wound folds is the one most readers meet first, whether in the surface of the cerebrum or in the spirals of a seashell, and the figurative sense of a complicated line of reasoning grew out of the same picture of a thing twisted into knots. The mathematical meaning is a different case. It arose as a semantic calque, a word-for-word translation of the German "Faltung", which denotes an operation combining two functions into a third. English borrowed the idea by copying its meaning rather than its form, so the mathematical use reflects German terminology rather than a Latin source.

Synonyms: twists, turns