map

I. noun Etymology: Medieval Latin mappa, from Latin, napkin, towel Date: 1527 1. a. a representation usually on a flat surface of the whole or a part of an area b. a representation of the celestial sphere or a part of it 2. something that represents with a clarity suggestive of a map <

the Freudian map of the mind — Harold Bloom

> 3. the arrangement of genes on a chromosome — called also genetic map 4. function 5a • maplike adjective II. verb (mapped; mapping) Date: 1586 transitive verb 1. a. to make a map of <

map the surface of the moon

> b. to delineate as if on a map <

sorrow was mapped on her face

> c. to make a survey of for or as if for the purpose of making a map d. to assign (as a set or element) in a mathematical or exact correspondence <

map a set onto itself

> <

map picture elements to video memory

> 2. to plan in detail — often used with out <

map out a program

> 3. to locate (a gene) on a chromosome intransitive verb 1. of a gene to be located 2. to be assigned in a relation or connection <

the major problems confronting humankind…do not map well onto the traditional disciplines — P. W. Porter

> • mappable adjective • mapper noun