permutation lock

1 definition found

permutation lock - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Permutation \Per`mu*ta"tion\ (p[~e]r`m[-u]"t[=a]"sn[u^]n), n.
     [L. permutatio: cf. F. permutation. See Permute.]
     1. The act of permuting; exchange of the thing for another;
        mutual transference; interchange.
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              The violent convulsions and permutations that have
              been made in property.                --Burke.
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     2. (Math.)
        (a) The arrangement of any determinate number of things,
            as units, objects, letters, etc., in all possible
            orders, one after the other; -- called also
            alternation. Cf. Combination, n., 4.
        (b) Any one of such possible arrangements.
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     3. (Law) Barter; exchange.
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     Permutation lock, a lock in which the parts can be
        transposed or shifted, so as to require different
        arrangements of the tumblers on different occasions of
        unlocking.
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