Cŏm′mu-tā′tion1, n.
n. [Fr. commutation, Lat. commutatio.] 1. The act of passing from one state to another; change. So great is the commutation that the soul then hated only that which now only it loves. South. 2. The act of giving one thing for another; barter; exchange. The use of money is . . . that of saving the commutation of more bulky commodities. Arbuthnot. 3. (Law.) The change of a penalty or punishment from a greater to a less, as banishment instead of death; substitution. Suits are allowable in the spiritual courts for money agreed to be given as a commutation for penance. Blackstone.
- The purchase of a right to go upon a certain route during a specified period, for a less amount than would be paid in the aggregate for separate trips.
- Any outright sum given as an equivalent for a pro rata payment; as, a copy-right commutation.
Angle of commutation (Astron.), the angular distance between the sun’s true place, seen from the earth, and the place of a planet reduced to the ecliptic. Hutton.