1

Merriam-Webster's definition of chronological:

of, relating to, or arranged in or according to the order of time

The spatially equivalent adjective I'm looking for would, ideally, be defined as:

of, relating to, or arranged in or according to the order in space

American Heritage's definition of chronology:

The arrangement of events in time.

The spatial noun would be defined as:

The arrangement of objects in space.

I've considered sequential and sequence, respectively. I understand them to refer to order in general and not specifically to spatial or temporal order; either context seems appropriate.

Likewise for serial and series.

10
  • chronology, chronological/time, temporal/space,spacial. I don't understand what you are asking.
    – Lambie
    Jan 30, 2020 at 21:14
  • @Lambie Chronological means ordered in time. E.g., chronological events. What's an adjective for ordered in space? E.g., spatially sequential objects. I'm looking for an unambiguous single word. Jan 30, 2020 at 21:30
  • I think you are going for a false analogy. spatially ordered objects. The ordering of objects in space and time is one thing. Chronology is another.
    – Lambie
    Jan 30, 2020 at 21:37
  • "Geometry" describes the relationships of objects in space, but I don't think it will work very well for your purposes. However, I doubt that there is a single word that will do the trick.
    – user888379
    Jan 30, 2020 at 23:35
  • If you are wanting to describe physical arrangements, layout could probably be used.
    – jxh
    Jan 31, 2020 at 18:00

2 Answers 2

3

Although mostly used to describe elements in a computer network, one term to consider is topology:

2 The way in which constituent parts are interrelated or arranged.
‘the topology of a computer network’
Lexico

2
  • 1
    Yeah, doesn't work too well for ordering, but it does work for "arrangement".
    – Hot Licks
    Jun 29, 2020 at 2:41
  • @HotLicks: A "topological sort" is a partial ordering, but its usage is also kind of specialized.
    – jxh
    Jun 30, 2020 at 18:01
-1

Seriation is, IMHO, what you seem to be describing,though I could be mistaken

seriation

NOUN the arrangement of a collection of artifacts into a chronological sequence

1
  • 1
    Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.
    – Community Bot
    Apr 14 at 10:44

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.