| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| fractal |
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| SYLLABICATION: | frac·tal |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  fr k t l |
| NOUN: | A geometric pattern that is repeated at ever smaller scales to produce irregular shapes and surfaces that cannot be represented by classical geometry. Fractals are used especially in computer modeling of irregular patterns and structures in nature. | | ETYMOLOGY: | French, from Latin fr ctus, past participle of frangere, to break. See fraction.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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