convolution

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a twist, coil, or fold, especially one of the folds on the surface of the brain

   The scan showed an unusually deep convolution in the cerebral cortex.

2. 2
   noun

   mathematics: an operation that combines two functions or signals to produce a third

   The image filter applies a convolution to each small region of pixels.

3. 3
   noun

   a complicated turn, development, or intricacy in an argument or sequence of events

   One final convolution of the plot revealed that the witness had lied.

From Latin convolutus, the past participle of convolvere ("to roll together"), built from con- ("together") + volvere ("to roll"), with -ion. The mathematical sense was influenced by German Faltung (literally "folding"), preserving the older image of one form being folded across another.

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