VARIABLE QUANTITY • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Variable quantity

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/vˈɛriəbəl kwˈɑntəti/ Listen

adjective

Variable adj.

Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of alternation in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds or seasons; a variable quantity.

Liable to vary; too susceptible of change; mutable; fickle; unsteady; inconstant; as, the affections of men are variable; passions are variable. "Lest that thy love prove likewise variable." "His heart, I know, how variable and vain!"

Variable exhaust (Steam Eng.), a blast pipe with an adjustable opening.

Variable quantity (Math.), a variable.

Variable-rate mortgage (Finance), a mortgage whose percentage interest rate varies depending on some agreed standard, such as the prime rate; used often in financing the purchase of a home. Such a mortgage usually has a lower initial interest rate than a fixed-rate mortgage, and this permits buyers of a home to finance the purchase a house of higher price than would be possible with a fixed-rate loan.

Variable stars (Astron.), fixed stars which vary in their brightness, usually in more or less uniform periods.

Synonyms: Changeable; mutable; fickle; wavering; unsteady; versatile; inconstant.

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Etymology of 'Variable quantity'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Variable quantity" Quotes from Famous Books

... the beginner. It embraces a number of the plants in common use for carpet-bedding, although not all of them. The usual heights are given in inches. This, of course, in different soils and under different treatment is more or less a variable quantity. The figures in parentheses suggest in inches suitable distances for planting in the row when immediate effects are expected. A verbena in rich soil will in time cover a circle three feet or more in ...

— Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) • L. H. Bailey