topology

Meaning

1. The branch of mathematics dealing with those properties of a geometrical object (of arbitrary dimensionality) that are unchanged by continuous deformations (such as stretching, bending, etc., without tearing or gluing).
2. Any collection τ of subsets of a given set X that contains both the empty set and X, and which is closed under finitary intersections and arbitrary unions.
3. The anatomical structure of part of the body.
4. The arrangement of nodes in a communications network.
5. The properties of a particular technological embodiment that are not affected by differences in the physical layout or form of its application.
6. The topographical study of geographic locations or given places in relation to their history.
7. The art of, or method for, assisting the memory by associating the thing or subject to be remembered with some place.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/təˈpɒləd͡ʒi/

Etymology

From Late Latin topologia, from Ancient Greek τόπος (tópos, “place, locality”) + -(o)logy (“study of, a branch of knowledge”).

Sentences

According to Victor Vassiliev, Arnold worked comparatively little on topology for topology's sake .