| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| parameter, perimeter (nn.) |
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| Both mean “boundaries or outer limits,” but even in those senses they are not interchangeable. Parameter, pronounced puh-RAM-uh-tuhr, has some specialized mathematical meanings and two very widely used general meanings—“a boundary or limit” and “a characteristic element or factor”—both usually in the plural: We sketched in the parameters of the problem as we saw them. Perimeter, pronounced puhr-IM-i-tuhr, is “the outer boundary of any mathematical plane figure,” “the outer edge or boundary of an area,” “the outer defense line of a military area,” or “the length of any of these”: We walked the perimeter of the woodlot. Parameters are more likely to be abstract or figurative; perimeters are usually literal boundaries. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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