variability 
ity. though intrinsic, i- ralh it into play by tli.' extrinsic 
' litions under liirh organisms vary, anil In this way 
I ' '(interactive of heledit}, ii! I In- I C!lll'-|li'> 1 1 i tire' 
(See (it'n * ,11 i i.l H h'l-tii.n, :;.) The old notion of gpi 
1 iTr;i! ions, and a.s ainotiK the ' constalil.s ol nalm < . ' 
subject to \arhtion within very narrow limits which are 
themselves flxed ill eveiv ease, timls nn \,] in in niodeni 
liiolouieal conceptions. (See *7W'C/'X, :~|.) Tin- actual extent 
of variation which results from variability lias I.een real- 
ized in all it only u'lthin the past Iliiii . 
I 1 ii i in- \\ liieh uli-i i \ aliens in evei v I >i itnch of natural his- 
tory have dciuonsti at-d the universality of tin- fact, anil 
shown the avrr.i^e tali or device of \ a! iahility to be much 
Ki eater than had heiore been suspected. The cases of do- 
mestic animals and plants, Hist -\sleniaticallystudied l>> 
lurwin with special reference to variability, proved to 
'ic iiiin-li less i \n ptional than they had been assumi-d 
t" >>i : ami tin results of extending the same researches to 
the variability of organisms in a state of nature may be 
-ai.l in have entirely remodeled biology. See Darwinism 
.IMll I'l'itlltillll, 2(0), (It). 
We s,-e indefinite variability in the endless slight pe- 
. Illiai Itii-s which distinguish the indi\ idlla! - of the Bailie 
species, and which cannot bu accounted for by Inherl- 
from either parent or from some more remote an- 
cestor. Darwin, Origin of Species, p. 23. 
3. Iii astrnn., tlie fact that a star or nebula 
changes its brightness in a more or less peri- 
odic manner.- Generative variability. In bit*., In- 
herited variability ; Inherent tendency to vary away from 
ancestral characters, and thus not to revert or exhibit 
atavism. See the quotation. 
It Is only in those cases in which the modification has 
been comparatively recent and extraordinarily great that 
we ought to find the generative variability, as It may be 
called, still present in a high degree. For in this case 
the variability will seldom as yet have been flxed by the 
continued selection of the Individuals varying in the re- 
quired manner and degree, and by the continued rejection 
of those tending to revert to a former or less-modified 
condition. Darwin, Origin of Species, p. 154. 
variable (va'ri-a-bl), a. and n. [< F. variabli 
= Hp. variable = Pg. rariavrl = It. variabile, < 
LL, variabilis, changeable, < L. variare, change : 
see vari/.} I. n. 1. Apt to change ; changing or 
altering in a physical sense ; liable to change ; 
changeable. 
Certcyne carpettes, coouerlettes, table clothes and hang- 
inges made of gussamoine sllke fynelye wrought after u 
stratinge diulse with plesante and variable colours. 
Peter Martyr (tr. in Eden's First Books on America, ed. 
[Arber, p. 129). 
Species are more or less variable under the influence of 
external conditions, and the varieties so formed may or may 
not be true species. Dawson, Nature and the Bible, p. 134. 
2. In hot. and :oiil., embracing many individuals 
and groups (varieties, subspecies, forms, states) 
which depart somewhat from the strict type: 
said of a species or, in a similar sense, of some 
particular character. 3. Liable to vary or 
change, in a moral sense; mutable; fickle; in- 
constant : as, variable moods. 
O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, 
That monthly changes in her circled orb, 
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. 
Shak., R. and .)., II. 2. 111. 
Lydington was sent to Leith, where he died, and WHS 
suspected to be poisoned ; a Man of the greatest Under- 
standing in the Scottish Nation, and of an excellent Wit. 
but very variable ; for which George Buchanan called him 
the c l.am.-el i, u i. Baker, Chronicles, p. 3411. 
4. Capable of being varied, altered, or changed ; 
liable to change; alterable; in gram., capable 
of inflection. 
I am sure he [.Milton] would have stared if told that the 
"number of accents" in a pentameter verse was variable. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 297. 
5. In math., (juantitatively indeterminate, and 
considered with reference to the various deter- 
minations of quantity that are possible in the 
case. See II. 
A quantity is said to he unrestrictedly variable in a re 
gion when U can assume all numerical values in this re- 
gion. Encyc. Brit., XXIV. 70. 
6. In nstron., changing in brightness. Vari- 
able CUt-Off, in engines, valve-gear so arranged as to cut 
off the steam or other elastic fluid from its cylinder at 
any determined point in the stroke of the piston, thus 
allowing the remaining effort to be accomplished by ex- 
pansion of that supplied at the first part of the stroke. 
See cut-of. Variable gear, in *.. n form of geared 
wheels designed to impartaltcrnatingchanges in thespeed 
of any machine, as a slow ad- 
vance and quick return in re- 
ciprocating movements. Such 
gears are made in the form of sec- 
tors of different radius, which are 
brought into action alternately 
as the gears revolve. Another 
form of variable-speed mecha- 
nism employs geared wheels of 
dilfeient diameters, with abroad 
drum for a belt, the drum being 
dhided into different sections, 
and each section connected by 
a separate shaft or sleeve with 
one of the gears. By shifting the 
belt to different sections of the 
drum, variations in the speed 
are obtained. In other forms of 
variable speed nierhanism, cones 
and disks are used in frictional 
contact, the vacations being ob- Variable Graa. 
(ili'.i'.i 
tallied by eliaiiL-inu the point of emit art of the two cones 
or disks ; the romiiion case-pulley is also a i,.i in of variable- 
Speed mechanism. >, e /. ,'/!,,/. Variable motion, in 
""</'_, motion whirb i- piodnecd by the action M a tore, 
which \aii.-in inien.-it >. Variable screw. Seexn-wi. 
Variable species, In tint., any species whose variations 
are notably nmncion* or marked, or whose rate of varia- 
hiliu is decidedly above the average. (See def. 2.) All 
species are variable, and Incessantly varying; but some 
show less fixity of characters than others, or arc just now 
nnderfOinC much modification, or happen In be ammi.- 
tlios, of which we possess many specimens Illuitratim; 
marked departures from the assumed t\p> -form, as sub- 
species, varieties, etc. ; and such are the variable rpeciet 
oi t be naturalists' every-day language, so called by way of 
emphasis, not of sti lit detinition. See, for example, if raw 
'"/TV. -Variable-speed pulleys, an arrangement of 
pulleys and gears to produce changing speeds ; variable- 
-I I wheels. Variable-speed wheels, wheels com- 
bined to transmit variable motion ; variable-speed pul- 
leys. Variable Star, In antron., a star which under- 
goes, a periodical increase and diminution of Its luster. 
Syn. 1 and 3. Wavering, unstable, vacillating, fluctu- 
ating, tilfnl. 
II. '(. 1. That which is variable; that which 
varies, or is subject or liable to vary or change. 
There are many variable! among the conditions which 
conspire for the product ion of a good photograph. 
./. A. i 
2. In iiialli., a quantity which is indeterminate, 
and is considered with reference to its different 
possible values; originally, a quantity capable 
of values continuously connected in one dimen- 
sion, so that it could be conceived as running 
through them all in the course of time. This 
meaning still remains: but we now speak of the position 
of a point as variable in two or three dimensions, and we 
also speak of the arguments of functions in the calculus 
of finite differences, where there is no approach to con- 
tinuity, as variables. The difference between an hide 
terminate constant and a variable Is frequently a mere 
difference of designation ; but constants, though Indeter- 
minate, are not usually considered with reference to the 
different values which they may take. Mathematically 
there Is very little (and no precise) difference between a 
variable and an unknown. 
3. A shifting wind, as opposed to a trade-wind ; 
hence, the variables, the intermediate region or 
belt between the northeast and the southeast 
trade-winds. The region varies In width from about 
l.">o to 600 miles, and is characterized by calms, shifting 
breezes, and sometimes violent squalls, the laws of which 
are not so readily understood as are those of the trade- 
winds. The name Is also generally given to those parts 
of the ocean where variable winds may be expected. 
We find uniform trade-winds on each side the equator, 
almost uniting near it, and without a space of continuous 
"rains" a limited interval only of variables and calms 
being found, during about ten months of the year. 
Fitz Roy, Weather Book, p. 125. 
Complex variable. See complex.- Dependent vari- 
able, any variable not the independent one. Indepen- 
dent variable, in the calculus, the variable with ref- 
erence to which the differentiations are performed ; the 
variable to which the differentiations refer ; also, the vari- 
able which is considered first, or as the parameter for the 
others. In any problem which may be proposed, it is a 
mere matter of convenience what variable shall be taken 
as the independent one ; but after the equation is con- 
structed the matter is in many cases determinate. In 
partial differential equations, equations of surfaces, etc., 
there are two or more independent variables, 
variableness (va'ri-a-bl-nes), H. The state or 
character of being variable, (a) In a physical sense, 
susceptibility of change ; liableness or aptness to alter or 
to be altered ; changeableness; variability : as, the varia 
blfitegg of the weather, (b) In a moral sense, mutability : 
inconstancy: unsteadiness; fickleness; levity: as, the m- 
riablenegs of human emotions. 
The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, mi 
tber shadow of turning [with whom can be no variation, 
neither shadow that is cast by turning, R. V.) .las. I. 17. 
variably (va'ri-a-bli), orfr. In a variable man- 
ner; changeably; inconstantly; unsteadily. 
Variance (va'ri-ans), . [< ME. variance, vari- 
aunce, < OF. 'varianec = It. varian;a, < L. vari- 
antia, a difference, diversity, < variun(t-)g, va- 
riant: see rariaut.} 1. The state of being or 
this act of becoming variant; alteration; varia- 
tion ; change ; difference. 
Withoute chaunge or variauticc. 
Horn. j the Riae, 1. 5438. 
2. In lair, a discrepancy: () Between plead- 
ings and proof, as where" a complaint mentions 
a wrong date, or the facts prove to be different 
from what was alleged, (b) Between the form 
of the writ or process by which the action was 
commenced and the form of the declaration or 
complaint. Formerly, when variances were deemed 
more important than now, variance was often defined as a 
fatal discrepancy or disagreement, etc.; but in civil cases 
such variances between pleading and proof as do not ac- 
tually mislead the adverse party are now disregarded as 
immaterial, and many others are amendable. I'nder what 
Is known in the Ignited States as the Code Practice, vari- 
ance is used to designate a discrepancy in some particu- 
lars only, and is amendable if it has not misled, while a 
failure of proof as to the entire scope and meaning of an 
allegation is not regarded as a mere variance, but fatal. 
3. Difference that produces disagreement or 
controversy: dispute; dissension: discord. 
variation 
A sort of |Hir souls met, (iod's fools, good master, 
Have bad Mime little rariaiirt amongst ourselves. 
Fletcher, Beggars' Bnsb, II. 1. 
Even among the zealous patrons of a council of state. 
tin- mo-t ineeoneilable variance Isdl- ruing 
the mode In which it ought to be constituted. 
Hattuun, Federalist, No. 88. 
4t. Varialilfii4-~~; itieoti>t:iin'y. 
she Is Fortune vercly, 
Ip whom no man shulde aflye, 
Vor In hlryeftli have fiaunce, 
Hhe Is so tulle of mriaunee. 
Ham. <tf flu R<m, 1. 5481. 
At variance, (a) In a state of difference or disagreement. 
-lie runs, but hopes she does not run unseen, 
W bile a kind glance at her pursuer file*. 
How much at variance are her feet and eyes ! 
I'<:pe, Spring, 1. 00, 
In proportion as men are habituated to maintain tbelr 
own claims while respecting the claims of others ... ls 
produced a mental attitude at variance with that which 
accompanies subjection. II. Spencer, Prin.of Soclol.,|42. 
(Ii) In a state of controversy or dissension ; In a state of 
opposition or enmity. 
I am come to set a man at variance agslnst his father. 
Mat x. x'.. 
The Spaniards set York and Stanley at variance ; they 
poyson York, and sel upon his Goods. 
Maker, Chronicles, p. 373. 
= 8vn, 1 and 3. Ititagreement, etc. See ditcrmce, 
variant (va'ri-ant), a. and M. [< ME. rariauni. 
varyaimt, < Of. variant, F. variant = 8p. Pg. 
It. niriaiite, < L. raria(t-)s, ppr. of variare, 
change, vary: see vary.'} I. a. 1. Different; 
diverse; having a different form or character: 
as, a variant form or spelling of a word. 
He [Hooper) adopted them [Forty-two Articles) so far 
as he liken, In his own visitation Articles, anticipating 
their publication by two years; and this diocesan variant 
edition, so to call It. is of value as giving the mind of the 
father of Nonconformity, or at least the most eminent 
puritan contemporary, on several Important points. 
K. W. Diion, Hist. Church of Kng., xz., note. 
2. Variable; varying; changing; inconstant. 
So variartnt of dlversitee 
That men in everfche myghte se 
Bothe gret anoy and ek swetnesse. 
lt<m. o/the Rote, 1. 1917. 
While above in the variant breezes 
Numberless noisy weathercocks rattled and sang of muta- 
tion. Long.fettou>, Evangellne, I. L 
3t. Unsettled; restless. 
He Is beer and ther ; 
He Is so variaunt, he ablt nowher. 
Chaucer, Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 104. 
U. n. Something that is substantially the 
same, though in a different form; in <////., a 
variant form or spelling of the same original 
word ; in lit., a different reading or spelling. 
These stories [French Folk-lore) are ... interesting 
variantt of those common to the rest of Europe. 
X. A. Ret., CXXVII. 619. 
It may be objected that some of these [local circum- 
stancesl are the characteristics of t rariant rather than 
of a "version." S. and Q., 7th ser., XI. 70. 
variate (va'ri-at), v. ; pret. and pp. rariated, 
ppr. rariating. [< L. variatus, pp. of rariare, 
change, vary: see vary.} I. trans. To make 
different; vary; diversify. 
What was the cause of their multiplied, variated com- 
plotments against her'.' 
Dean Kiivj, Sennou on the Fifth of November. 1608, p. S3. 
[(Latham.) 
II. iutrang. To alter; vary; change. 
That which we touch with times doth rnriale, 
Now hot, now cold, and sometimes temperate. 
Sylvester, tr. of l>u Bartas's Weeks. L 2. 
This artificial change is hut a fixation of nature's incon- 
stancy, helping Its variatiny infirmities. 
Jer. Taylor ('.'), Artif. Handsomeness, p. 43. (Latham.) 
variate (va'ri-at), a. [< ME. rariate, < L. tari- 
ntiiK, pp.: see the verb.] Varied; variegated; 
diverse. 
Olyve Is pulde of coloure variate. 
I'alladiiu, Husbondrle (E. E. T. S.), p. 2O. 
Variated 1 (va'ri-a-ted), a. [< L. tviriflfu*,pp. of 
rariare, vary: see rariate.} Varied; diversified; 
variate. 
variated 2 , . Same as rarrinted. 
Smooth, variated, unangnlar bodies. 
Burk,; Sublime and Beautiful. (Kichardmm.) 
variation (va-ri-a'shon). n. [Earlv mod. E. 
also ritriari/an, < ME. rariacioun, < OF. (and F.) 
rariatbm = 8p. variation = Pg. rariaftfo = It. 
variaiione, < L. rariatio(n-), a difference, vari- 
ation, < variare. pp. rariatun, change, van-: see 
''''''.'/] 1. The act or process of varying; par- 
tial change in form, position, state', or quali- 
ties; alteration; mutation; diversity; vari- 
ance; modification: as. variations of color; the 
slow variation of language. 
After much roriofion of opinions, the prisoner at the 
bar WHS acquit of treason. 
HirJ. Haincard, Life and Reign of Ed. VI., p. 324. 
