invariant
n.something that stays the same even when other things around it change. You see this word most often in math or computer science.
n.a value, property, or condition that remains unchanged throughout a specific operation or transformation. Often used in formal logic and programming to ensure system stability.
“The speed of light is a physical invariant.”
“In this algorithm, the total number of items in the list must remain an invariant during the sorting process.”
“The mathematician proved that the topological invariant remained constant regardless of how the shape was stretched or twisted, provided it was not torn.”
Commonly used in technical contexts like mathematics, physics, and software engineering.
From in- + variant.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.