A relation R is a partial ordering if it is a pre-order (i.e. it is reflexive (x R x) and transitive (x R y R z => x R z)) and it is also antisymmetric (x R y R x => x = y). The ordering is partial, rather than total, because there may exist elements x and y for which neither x R y nor y R x. In domain theory, if D is a set of values including the undefined value (bottom) then we can define a partial ordering relation <= on D by x <= y if x = bottom or x = y. The constructed set D x D contains the very undefined element, (bottom, bottom) and the not so undefined elements, (x, bottom) and (bottom, x). The partial ordering on D x D is then (x1,y1) <= (x2,y2) if x1 <= x2 and y1 <= y2. The partial ordering on D -> D is defined by f <= g if f(x) <= g(x) for all x in D. (No f x is more defined than g x.) A lattice is a partial ordering where all finite subsets have a least upper bound and a greatest lower bound. ("<=" is written in LaTeX as sqsubseteq). (1995-02-03)

A set with a partial ordering.

In mathematics, a partial derivative of a function of several variables is its derivative with respect to one of those variables, with the others held constant (as opposed to the total derivative, in which all variables are allowed to vary). Partial derivatives are used in vector calculus and differential geometry.

In algebra, the partial fraction decomposition or partial fraction expansion of a rational fraction (that is, a fraction such that the numerator and the denominator are both polynomials) is an operation that consists of expressing the fraction as a sum of a polynomial (possibly zero) and one or several fractions with a simpler denominator.

In mathematics, the phrase complete partial order is variously used to refer to at least three similar, but distinct, classes of partially ordered sets, characterized by particular completeness properties. Complete partial orders play a central role in theoretical computer science: in denotational semantics and domain theory.

In computer science, partial application (or partial function application) refers to the process of fixing a number of arguments to a function, producing another function of smaller arity. Given a function f \colon (X \times Y \times Z) \to N , we might fix (or 'bind') the first argument, producing a function of type \text{partial}(f) \colon (Y \times Z) \to N .

In thermodynamics, a partial molar property is a quantity which describes the variation of an extensive property of a solution or mixture with changes in the molar composition of the mixture at constant temperature and pressure. It is the partial derivative of the extensive property with respect to the amount (number of moles) of the component of interest.

The partial volume effect can be defined as the loss of apparent activity in small objects or regions because of the limited resolution of the imaging system. It occurs in medical imaging and more generally in biological imaging such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

partially ordered set