n.
Pronunciation: ' grüp
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
Etymology: French groupe, from Italian gruppo, by-form of groppo knot, tangle, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German kropf craw ― more at CROP
Date: 1686
1 : two or more figures forming a complete unit in a composition
2 a : a number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship b : an assemblage of objects regarded as a unit c (1) : a military unit consisting of a headquarters and attached battalions (2) : a unit of the U.S. Air Force higher than a squadron and lower than a wing
3 a : an assemblage of related organisms ― often used to avoid taxonomic connotations when the kind or degree of relationship is not clearly defined b (1) : two or more atoms joined together or sometimes a single atom forming part of a molecule especially : FUNCTIONAL GROUP <a methyl group > (2) : an assemblage of elements forming one of the vertical columns of the periodic table c : a stratigraphic division comprising rocks deposited during an era
4 : a mathematical set that is closed under a binary associative operation, contains an identity element, and has an inverse for every element