covering

views updated Jun 11 2018

covering
1. of a set S. A finite set of subsets of S whose union is just S itself. The subsets, A1, A2,…, Am, are said to cover S. If the elements Ai for i = 1, 2,…, m are mutually disjoint, then the covering {A1,…Am}

is called a partition of S.

2. A relationship between two elements of a partially ordered set S. If x and y are elements of S then y covers x if and only if x<y, and whenever xzy for some element z in S, then either x = z or z = y.

covering

views updated May 29 2018

cov·er·ing / ˈkəv(ə)ring/ • n. a thing used to cover something else, typically in order to protect or conceal it. ∎  [usu. in sing.] a layer of something that covers something else: a covering of cloud.

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