trichotomy

  1. Noun.  Division or separation into three groups or pieces.
  2. Noun.  (algebra) the following property of an order relation (e.g., "less than"): for any two elements (of a given algebraic structure) there are exactly three possibilities: either the first element is less than the second one, the second element is less than the first one, or the two elements are equal.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.