partite

Partite is the plural form of partita in Italian and denotes several related meanings that appear across language, music, and mathematics. In everyday Italian, partita most commonly means a game or match in sports, board games, or other competitive activities. It can refer to an individual contest as well as to the set of games in a tournament. For example, le partite di calcio di ieri means yesterday’s soccer matches.

In music, a partita is a Baroque instrumental collection often consisting of a sequence of dances or short pieces; the term is used for suites for keyboard or for solo instruments. Notable examples include Bach's Partitas for keyboard and for violin, which are among the best-known uses of the title.

In graph theory, a k-partite graph is a graph whose vertex set can be divided into k independent parts, with no edges joining vertices within the same part. The two-partite case, bipartite graphs, is the most common. Complete bipartite graphs, written K_m,n, connect every vertex of one part to every vertex of the other. Partite graphs underpin many algorithms for matching, coloring, and network flow.

Outside Italian, partite appears in academic and historical contexts as the plural of partita when discussing music or in some languages with similar roots. The word can also appear in titles or as a proper noun referring to a specific work.