¦ noun
1. the action or process of changing in form or nature.
a change.
2. a change in the structure of a gene resulting in a variant form which may be transmitted to subsequent generations.
a distinct form resulting from genetic mutation.
3. Linguistics (in Celtic languages) change of an initial consonant in a word caused by the preceding word.
(in Germanic languages) the umlaut process.
Derivatives
mutational adjective
mutationally adverb
Origin
ME: from L. mutatio(n-), from mutare 'to change'.