[com.mute] vb com.mut.ed ; com.mut.ing [L commutare to change, exchange, fr. com- + mutare to change--more at mutable] vt (15c) 1 a: change, alter b: to give in exchange for another: exchange
2: to convert (as a payment) into another form
3: to exchange (a penalty) for another less severe
4: commutate ~ vi 1: make up, compensate
2: to pay in gross
3: to travel back and forth regularly (as between a suburb and a city)
4: to yield the same mathematical result regardless of order--used of two elements undergoing an operation or of two operations on elements -- com.mut.able adj
[2]commute n (1954) 1: an act or an instance of commuting
2: the distance covered in commuting