homology

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   similarity between structures, genes, or features because they derive from a common evolutionary ancestor

   The shared bone pattern in a human arm and a whale flipper is evidence of homology.

2. 2
   noun

   a structural correspondence or relationship between things occupying equivalent positions

   The researcher proposed a homology between the two parts of the model.

3. 3
   noun

   in algebraic topology, a relation and associated invariant that identifies cycles differing by a boundary

   The first homology of a circle records its single independent loop.

From Latin homologia, from Greek homologia ("agreement"), formed from homos ("same") and logos ("relation, account"). Biology specialized it for correspondence through common ancestry; mathematics later adopted it for relationships among cycles and boundaries.

Topics