interpolation : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: interpolation	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for interpolation
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
interpolation n a message (spoken or written) that is introduced or inserted; "with the help of his friend's interpolations his story was eventually told"; "with many insertions in the margins" Synonym(s): interpolation, insertion (mathematics) calculation of the value of a function between the values already known the action of interjecting or interposing an action or remark that interrupts Synonym(s): interjection, interposition, interpolation, interpellation
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Interpolation \Inter`pola"tion\, n. [L. interpolatio an alteration made here and there: cf. F. interpolation.] 1. The act of introducing or inserting anything, especially that which is spurious or foreign. 2. That which is introduced or inserted, especially something foreign or spurious. Bentley wrote a letter . . . . upon the scriptural glosses in our present copies of Hesychius, which he considered interpolations from a later hand. --De Quincey. 3. (Math.) The method or operation of finding from a few given terms of a series, as of numbers or observations, other intermediate terms in conformity with the law of the series.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
interpolation A mathematical procedure which estimates values of a {function} at positions between listed or given values. Interpolation works by fitting a "curve" (i.e. a function) to two or more given points and then applying this function to the required input. Example uses are calculating {trigonometric functions} from tables and audio waveform sythesis. The simplest form of interpolation is where a function, f(x), is estimated by drawing a straight line ("linear interpolation") between the nearest given points on either side of the required input value: f(x) ~ f(x1) + (f(x2) - f(x1))(x-x1)/(x2 - x1) There are many variations using more than two points or higher degree {polynomial} functions. The technique can also be extended to functions of more than one input. (1997-07-14)