involution

[in-vuh-loo-shuh n] /ˌɪn vəˈlu ʃən/
noun
1.
an act or instance of involving or entangling; involvement.
2.
the state of being involved.
3.
something complicated.
4.
Botany, Zoology.
  1. a rolling up or folding in upon itself.
  2. a part so formed.
5.
Biology. retrograde development; degeneration.
6.
Physiology. the regressive changes in the body occurring with old age.
7.
Grammar. a complex construction in which the subject is separated from its predicate by intervening clauses or phrases.
8.
Mathematics. a function that is its own inverse.
Origin of involution
1605-15; < Medieval Latin involūtiōn- (stem of involūtiō). See involute, -ion
Related forms
superinvolution, noun
British Dictionary definitions for involution

involution

/ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən/
noun
1.
the act of involving or complicating or the state of being involved or complicated
2.
something involved or complicated
3.
(zoology) degeneration or structural deformation
4.
(biology) an involute formation or structure
5.
(physiol) reduction in size of an organ or part, as of the uterus following childbirth or as a result of ageing
6.
an algebraic operation in which a number, variable, expression etc, is raised to a specified power Compare evolution (sense 5)
7.
(grammar) an involved construction, such as one in which the subject is separated from the predicate by an additional clause
Derived Forms
involutional, adjective
Word Origin and History for involution
n.

late 14c., from Latin involutionem (nominative involutio) "a rolling up," noun of action from past participle stem of involvere (see involve). Related: Involutional.

involution in Medicine

involution in·vo·lu·tion (ĭn'və-lōō'shən)
n.

  1. A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.

  2. The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.

  3. A progressive decline or degeneration of normal physiological functioning occurring as a result of the aging process. Also called catagenesis.

in'vo·lu'tion·al adj.
involution in Science
involution
  (ĭn'və-l'shən)   

  1. A mathematical operation, such as negation, which, when applied to itself, returns the original number.

  2. The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.

  3. A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.