simplificades

Simplificades (from Catalan, meaning simplifications) is a term used especially in Catalan-language contexts to denote items or procedures that have been made simpler from a more complex original. It is not a formal discipline, but a generic label for simplified representations, models, or procedures across domains. A simplificade conveys the essential features while omitting nonessential details, serving to facilitate understanding, analysis, or computation.

Applications abound in mathematics, science, linguistics, and education. In mathematics, simplified expressions or fractions are referred to as simplificades. In science and engineering, simplified models neglect minor effects to make analysis tractable. In linguistics, casual speech often produces simplificades of phonology or syntax. In education, teachers use simplified problems or datasets to introduce new concepts before increasing complexity.

Etymology and usage: the term stems from the verb simplificar in Catalan and shares roots with the Latin simplificare. In English-language texts the concept is usually described as simplification or abstraction rather than by a direct loanword.

Related concepts include simplification, abstraction, model reduction, and approximation.