equivalence relation

noun, Mathematics
1.
a relation that is reflexive, symmetrical, and transitive, as equality.
Origin
1945-50
Examples from the web for equivalence relation
  • The general equivalence relation for resonance escape is derived directly in terms of the escape probability.
British Dictionary definitions for equivalence relation

equivalence relation

noun
1.
(logic, maths) a relation that is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive: it imposes a partition on its domain of definition so that two elements belong to the same subset if and only if the relation holds between them
equivalence relation in Technology

mathematics
A relation R on a set including elements a, b, c, which is reflexive (a R a), symmetric (a R b => b R a) and transitive (a R b R c => a R c). An equivalence relation defines an equivalence class.
See also partial equivalence relation.
(1996-05-13)