fractal
noun
[ ˈfrakt(ə)l ]
• a curve or geometrical figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. They are useful in modelling structures (such as snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth and galaxy formation.
fractal
adjective
• relating to or of the nature of a fractal or fractals.
• "fractal geometry"
Origin:
1970s: from French, from Latin fract- ‘broken’, from the verb frangere .
