kompositioon

Kompositioon refers to the act or result of putting together elements to form a whole, and its exact meaning varies by discipline. Broadly, it concerns structure, make-up, and organization.

In music and the arts, composition denotes the creation of a work, such as a musical piece, a painting, or a literary text. A creator plans how parts relate to one another, balancing melody, harmony, rhythm, form, and theme to achieve unity and coherence.

In science, chemistry uses the term chemical composition to describe which elements are present in a substance and in what proportions. It covers the arrangement of atoms, empirical and molecular formulas, and properties that follow from the mixture or compound’s make-up.

In mathematics, composition denotes the operation of applying one function to the result of another, commonly written as (f ∘ g)(x). This concept is central in many areas of analysis and algebra.

In design and aesthetics, composition refers to the arrangement of visual or textual elements within a space, guided by principles such as balance, contrast, rhythm, and emphasis to convey meaning or effect.

Etymology: kompositioon derives from Latin compositio, meaning “a putting together,” through French and other languages, reflecting the shared idea of combining parts.

See also: composition (music); chemical composition; function composition; visual composition.