transposition

[ trans-puh-zish-uhn ]

noun

1. an act of transposing.
2. the state of being transposed.
3. a transposed form of something.
4. Genetics. the movement of a gene or set of genes from one DNA site to another.
5. Photography. the process of reversing the tonality of an image, as from negative to positive.
6. Mathematics. a permutation of a set of elements that interchanges two elements and leaves the remaining elements in their original positions.

transposition

/ trænsˈpɒzɪtɪv; ˌtrænspəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of transposing or the state of being transposed
2. something transposed

Derived Forms

• ˌtranspoˈsitional, adjective

Other Words From

• transpo·sition·al trans·pos·i·tive [trans-, poz, -i-tiv], adjective
• nontrans·po·sition noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of transposition¹

First recorded in 1530–40, transposition is from the Medieval Latin word trānspositiōn- (stem of trānspositiō ). See trans-, position

Example Sentences

Interestingly, genes that mapped near the hypothetical proteins involved activities in DNA mobilization and transposition, meaning the ability to move genes into, around or out of the bacterial genome.

From Science Daily

Gonidakis, a key champion of the August amendment to raise the threshold for constitutional changes to 60%, said educating voters on the transposition of the ballot labels will be a challenge.

From Seattle Times

“It’s basically a transposition of political and ideological fights, debates, polemical views, into the realm of a very, very primitive understanding of history and the past.”

From New York Times

Those connections come vibrantly alive in this script, which Smith claims “is, for the most part, a direct transposition of the Wife of Bath’s prologue and tale.”

From Washington Post

Such street-to-stage transpositions can, and usually do, go wrong in a hundred ways.

From New York Times

Related Words

• change
• commerce
• network
• swap
• transaction
• transfer