RATIONAL


Meaning of RATIONAL in English

adj.

Pronunciation: ' rash-n ə l, ' ra-sh ə -n ə l

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English racional, from Anglo-French racionel, from Latin rationalis, from ration-, ratio

Date: 14th century

1 a : having reason or understanding b : relating to, based on, or agreeable to reason : REASONABLE <a rational explanation> < rational behavior>

2 : involving only multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction and only a finite number of times

3 : relating to, consisting of, or being one or more rational numbers <a rational root of an equation>

– ra · tio · nal · ly adverb

– ra · tio · nal · ness noun

Merriam Webster Collegiate English Dictionary.      Merriam Webster - Энциклопедический словарь английского языка.