covariant

1 9.9

Changing when you change the way you measure or look at things so their relationship stays the same

adjective
/ˌkoʊˈveɪrənt/

Specialized

: covariante

The researchers used environmental conditions as covariant variables to ensure the validity of their findings.

Examples

By 1950, Schwinger recognized the need for a more systematic approach to quantum field theory relying upon a covariant quantum version of Hamilton's principle.

Academic text (1995)
And for that there's something that's kind of cool called using a covariant representation of fields.
Up here it's a trick for how to build things that are covariant in a certain form.
And it's a variable that you can use in other studies as a covariant to control for genetics.
Differences in initial attitudes across groups were controlled through the use of covariant procedures.

Academic text (1996)
One is associated with covariant factors, the other is unassociated.

Academic text (2001)
Add one more thing that covariant derivatives are tensors.
I'm disappointed that function input types are covariant, and at a first uninformed glance, it seems to me that those two different design choices are inconsistent.

Blog text (16)
In statistics, we often consider a factor as a covariant to account for its influence on the results.
When analyzing data, it's essential to identify any covariant factors that may affect the outcome of the experiment.

Surface Forms

covariant positive

Morphology

covariant = variant (semi-transparent) = co + variant

Formally built as 'co-' + 'variant', but the technical mathematical sense is specialized and not fully inferable by a general B1 learner.

Etymology

Covariant comes from the parts co- 'with' and variant 'to change', as in cooperate and variation. So something covariant 'changes with' another thing in a way that keeps their relation the same.