kənˈvərzhən, -və̄zh-,-vəizh-, Brit usually & US also -shən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English conversioun, from Middle French conversion, from Latin conversion-, conversio, from conversus (past participle of convertere to turn round, convert) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at convert
1.
a.
(1) : change from one belief, view, course, party, or principle to another : the bringing over or persuasion of a person to a particular belief, party, or principle
his conversion to, and disillusionment with, the Communist party — Sidney Hook
specifically : the bringing over or persuasion of a person to the Christian faith
in order to help forward conversions among her people — I.B. Richman
(2) : a change of one's feelings or one's point of view from a state marked by indifference or opposition to one of zealous acceptance, liking, or devotion
Melville's sudden passionate conversion to Shakespeare — K.S.Davis
specifically : such a change in one's religious orientation marked also by a concomitant change in belief
b.
(1) : change from one form, state, or character into another
turtles … await conversion into canned meat and soup — American Guide Series: Florida
the company's conversion to war production
(2) : translation (as of a literary text) from one language into another
(3) : structural change or remodeling usually to increase efficiency or usefulness
conversion of the aircraft carrier will include strengthening of the flight deck and increasing the fuel capacity
(4) : the transformation of an unconscious mental conflict into a symbolically equivalent bodily symptom
(5) : a change in type of forest management (as from coppice forest system to seedling forest system)
(6) : the making of a score on a try for point after touchdown in football or a free throw in basketball
c. : an appropriation of and dealing with the property of another as if it were one's own without right
the conversion of a horse
d. : change from one use or purpose to another
conversion of the electronic eye, then used mainly to open doors … into an anticrime device — Alan Hynd
also : the thing so converted (as hunting rifle converted from a military rifle)
2. obsolete : the action of revolving (as on an axis) or turning (as from one position or direction to another)
the conversion of the needle to the north — Sir Thomas Browne
3.
a. : the act of interchanging the terms of a proposition (as by putting the subject in place of the predicate or the contrary) — see conversion per accidens , simple conversion
b. : a change or reduction of the form of the mathematical proposition or expression
the conversion of equations
the conversion of proportions
especially : reduction by clearing of fractions
c. : change from one thing to another by substitution : exchange
conversion on the railroad from steam to diesel locomotives
d. : the exchange of property of one nature to property of another nature (as of real to personal, heritable to movable, or the reverse) sometimes considered for legal purposes as having taken place although no actual exchange has been made (as where a trustee has been directed to sell real estate and buy bonds but fails to do so)
e.
(1) : the exchange of outstanding currency for a new monetary unit as part of the reconstruction of a currency system
(2) : the change of one or more security issues into a single new issue
(3) : the exchange of one kind of security for another
f. : the act of converting an insurance policy
4. in compounding interest : the creation at each interest period of a new principle sum by adding the accrued interest to the principal of the preceding period
5. : the amount (as of a hydrocarbon oil) converted in a chemical reaction or decomposition
6. : the transferring of information from one code to another usually with a simultaneous transfer from one recording medium to another