2020-11-24
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด P – Parameters & perimeters
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Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง Parameters =’puh-RAM-i-ter’
ออกเสียง perimeters = ‘puh-RIM-i-ter’
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree
Parameter = a measurable characteristic;
a constant factor serving as a limit; guidelines:
the basic parameters of our foreign policy
Not to be confused with:
perimeter – the circumference or outline of a closed figure;
outer boundary of an enclosed area:
the perimeter of the estate
THE NEW DICTIONARY OF CULTURAL LITERACY
NOTES FOR PARAMETER
The term is often mistakenly used to
refer to the limits of possible values a variable can have
because of confusion with the word perimeter.
parameter
Definitions
A quantity or number on which some otherquantity or number depends. An informal example is,
“Depending on the traffic, it takes me between twenty minutes and an hour to drive to work”;
here, “traffic” is the parameter thatdetermines
the time it takes to get to work.
In statistics, a parameteris an unknown characteristic of a population
— for example, the number of women in a particular precinct who will vote Democratic.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
par′a·met′ric (păr′ə-mĕt′rĭk),
par′a·met′ri·cal adj.
par′a·met′ri·cal·ly adv.
Usage Note:
The term parameter, which originates inmathematics,
has a number of specific meanings infields
such as astronomy, electricity, crystallography, and statistics.
Perhaps because of its ring of technical authority,
people have applied parameter more generallyin recent years
to refer to any factor that determines a range of variations
and especially to a factor that restricts what results from a process or policy.
In this use, the word parameter is used to mean
"the particular value of a parameter,"
and comes close to meaning "a set limit or boundary."
For example,
a budget can be thought of as a set ofparameters
that determine a range of activity,
much like a set of mathematical parameters
that establish the range of effects, or limits, of other variables.
The sentence
A budget is a framework that defines the financial parameters within which an organization operates was considered acceptableby 81 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2004 survey.
Parameter is sometimes used incorrectlywhen it does not denote a range of variation,
as if it were a technical-sounding synonym for characteristic.
In 1988, 88 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the sentence
The Judeo-Christian ethic is one of the important parameters of Western culture.
In 2004, 77 percent rejected this same sentence, suggesting that familiarity has not bred tolerance of this usage.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary,
pa·ram·e·ter (pə-răm′ĭ-tər)
A quantity whose value can vary in general
but is fixed when the quantity
is used in a specific mathematical expression
involving one or more other variables.
For example,
in finding the area of a circle,
one needs to know the length of the circle's radius;
that length is a parameter that will havedifferent values for circles of different sizes.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Parameter vs. Perimeter
It's very easy to confuse parameter with perimeter.
Not only do the two words sound the same,
they both connote a boundary or limit.
When parameter is used to mean "a boundary or limit,"
it is usually in its plural form,
and often as the object of a preposition such as within or beyond:
Let's face it,
managing weight loss or maintenance can be trying enough within the parameters of a daily routine. Geoff Kerr, Weight Watchers, November 1991
Though candor sometimes encourages Bruno to "stray beyond the parameters of good taste," his interaction with Lydia is always convincingly portrayed as a loving, tender relationship. Ron Charles, The Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2011
In geometry,
perimeter refers to the boundary of a closed plane figure.
You might remember calculating perimeters in school.
If each side of an equilateral triangle measures 9 feet,
then the perimeter of the triangle measures 27 feet.
In more general use,
perimeter describes an outer stretch,
as in "The college president lived in a house on the perimeter of the campus."
Parameter originally had a meaning pertaining to mathematics as well. The dictionary defines it as
"an arbitrary constant whose value characterizes a member of a system
(as a family of curves);
also : a quantity (as a mean or variance) that describes a statistical population"
as well as "an independent variable used toexpress the coordinates of a variable point and functions of them."
Some twentieth-century usage commentators objected to the use of a scientific-sounding word like parameter in general contexts
(as in the examples above), especially to mean "a limit or boundary," theorizing that perimeter must have been what the speaker or writer intended.
However, perimeter was notoften used in the phrasings
that parameter is used in
(that is, as the object of within or beyond) until much later.
In fact,
a word such as bounds or range or confines
often serves as a more appropriate equivalent for parameter
than the marginal connotations of perimeter:
But a true novel is an extended piece of fiction:
Length is clearly one of its parameters. Anthony Burgess, The New York Times Book Review, 5 Feb. 1984
Shields will then subsume that request in the overall City operating budget that he will recommend to the City Council in mid-March, and the Council will make its final decisions on the parameters of the budget, including any tax increases or cuts, by the end of April. Nicholas F. Benton, The Falls Church News Press, 6 Jan. 2016
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Did You Know?
The perimeter of a prison is ringed with high walls and watchtowers,
and the entire perimeter of Australia is bounded by water.
In geometry, you may be asked to calculate the perimeter of various geometrical shapes.
In basketball, the perimeter is the area beyond the free-throw circle;
a "perimeter player" tends to stay outside that circle.
Try not to confuse this word with parameter,
which usually means a rule or limitthat controls what something is or how it can be done.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary
par•a•met•ric (ˌpær əˈmɛ trɪk) par`a•met′ri•cal, adj.
usage:
The use of parameter in the newer senses, “limits” or “characteristic”
is often strongly criticized. Though the criticized uses are now well established both in educated speech and in edited writing,
it is easy to substitute “limits” or “characteristics” if desired.
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
Parameters & perimeters
When parameters were spoken of only bymathematicians and scientists, the term caused few problems;
but now that it has become widely adopted by other speakers,
it is constantly confused with “perimeters.”
A parameter is most commonly a mathematical constant, a set of physical properties, or a characteristic of something.
But the perimeter of something is its boundary.
The two words shade into each other because we
often speak of factors of an issue or problem beingparameters, simultaneously thinking of them as limits;
but this is to confuse two distinct, if related ideas.
A safe rule is to avoid using “parameters” altogether
unless you are confident you know what it means.
