Word of the Day : January 25, 2021

optimization \ahp-tuh-muh-ZAY-shun\ noun

Definition

: an act, process, or methodology of making something (such as a design, system, or decision) as fully perfect, functional, or effective as possible; specifically : the mathematical procedures (such as finding the maximum of a function) involved in this

Did You Know?

Optimization started its gradual perfection in mid-19th-century English, when it was derived from optimize, a word first used in the early part of that same century with the meaning "to make the best or most of." In basic applications, optimization refers to the act or process of making something as good as it can be. In the 21st century, it has seen much use in technical contexts having to do with attaining the best possible functionality, as in "network optimization" and "search engine optimization" (SEO). Like the words optimum and optimism (which refer, respectively, to the amount or degree of something that is best or most effective, and to a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the future), optimize and optimization derive from Latin optimus, meaning "best."

Aired January 25, 2021

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