functional
Direct German Translations & Equivalents:
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Definitions & Usage
In good working order.
Useful; serving a purpose, fulfilling a function.
Only for functional purposes, notably in architecture.
Of or relating to one's role or office; official.
(physiology, psychology) Characterizing functioning in environment, being symptoms that do not presuppose alteration of organic structure.
Optimized for all-around physiological benefit.
(mathematics) Of or relating to a function or functions.
(computing theory) Having semantics defined purely in terms of mathematical functions, without side-effects.
(mathematics) A function that takes a function as its argument; more precisely, a function whose argument varies in a space of (real- or complex-valued) functions and whose value belongs to a monodimensional space.
(mathematics, functional analysis) A scalar-valued linear function on a vector space.
(computing) An object encapsulating a function pointer (or equivalent).
Notable Literary & Historical Quotes
“While we assume that phonological subsyllabic units are functional prior to reading skill, we have not ruled out a possible interaction with the writing system.”
— 2002, Ludo Verhoeven, Carsten Elbro, Pieter Reitsma, editors, Precursors of Functional Literacy:
“The two are often one and the same, says Walt Thompson, professor of kinesiology at Georgia State University and lead author of the ACSM survey – although functional fitness can apply to the younger generation as well.”
— 2013 July 3, Jacque Wilson, “‘Functional fitness’ keeps seniors moving”, in CNN:
“The clinical differentiation between functional and organic disease is at times difficult to establish, because, presumptively, in the beginning, at least, all organic disease is preceded by a physiologic perversion, that is, functional alteration, which may or may not be apparent with our present diagnostic limitations. […] Though benign rhythmic disturbances, such as premature contractions or paroxysmal tachycardia, do occur, it is notoriously difficult and still the subject of argument whether these may be called functionally benign or whether they may prove to have organic significance. […] The lack of opportunity for the medical student to observe the functional states in the medical school clinics and hospital practice, because of lack of space, or interest in their care in intramural teaching, is, I believe, a most forceful argument for a period of extramural practice under intelligent tutelage.”
— 1928 December 15, Frank J. Hirschboeck, “Treatment of Functional Heart Disease”, in The Journal of the American Medical Association, volume 91, number 24, →DOI, page 1852: