involution

== English == === Etymology === From Latin involūtiō, from involvō. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɪnvəˈluːʃən/ Rhymes: -uːʃən === Noun === involution (countable and uncountable, plural involutions) Entanglement; a spiralling inwards; intricacy. A complicated grammatical construction. 1917, James Huneker, Unicorns, New York: Scribner, Chapter 11 “Style and Rhythm in English Prose,” p. 129,[2] Walter Pater’s essay on Style is honeycombed with involutions and preciosity. (mathematics) An endofunction whose square is equal to the identity function; a function equal to its inverse. Hyponyms: complex conjugation, complementation (medicine) The shrinking of an organ (such as the uterus) to a former size. (physiology) The regressive changes in the body occurring with old age. Coordinate terms: aging, ageing (mathematics, obsolete) A power: the result of raising one number to the power of another. (economics, social sciences, of a society or nation) A cessation of development or progress involving intense inner competition. (neologism) A state of increased competition for limited resources, requiring great effort to stay ahead. (biology) The migration of a cell layer inward, sliding over an outer layer of cells. It occurs at gastrulation during embryogenesis. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== involutional involutionary involve ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== dual selfdual