n. & v.
--n.
1. a an activity proper to a person or institution. b a mode of action or activity by which a thing fulfils its purpose. c an official or professional duty; an employment, profession, or calling.
2 a a public ceremony or occasion. b a social gathering, esp. a large, formal, or important one.
3 Math. a variable quantity regarded in relation to another or others in terms of which it may be expressed or on which its value depends (x is a function of y and z).
4 a part of a program that corresponds to a single value.
--v.intr. fulfil a function, operate; be in working order.
Derivatives:
functionless adj.
Etymology: F fonction f. L functio -onis f. fungi funct- perform