Parameterisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of establishing criteria that influence the behavior and characteristics of models or systems occurs through setting specific variables and conditions in various frameworks
2. The act of defining or representing something by a set of parameters that specify its characteristics or behavior
3. A process in which variables are introduced to describe and control the features or operation of a system or model

Etymology: "Parameterisation" is built from "parameter" and the suffix "-isation," the British spelling of "-ization." The suffix turns a noun or adjective into a noun denoting the process of making something into that thing, or the act or result of doing so. Here it attaches to "parameter," so the word names the act of defining the variables that govern a system. "Parameter" itself is a much older coinage than many people assume. It is built from the Greek "para," meaning "beside" or "alongside," and "metron," meaning "measure." In mathematics it came to mean a quantity that stays fixed within a given case while other quantities vary, so a parameter is a measure held alongside the things it shapes. The result is a term whose meaning is set by its parts: to parameterise something is to express it in terms of parameters, turning a fixed object into a family of cases that can be adjusted by changing a few inputs.

Synonyms: parameterization, specification, defining, formulation, configuration