[ad. late L. synthēma watchword, permit, a. Gr. σύνθημα collection, connection, watchword, token, f. συντιθέναι to put together, f. σύν SYN- + τιθέναι (root θε-) to place.]
† 1. (See quot.) Obs. rare–0.
1658. Phillips, Syntheme, a watch-word; also an intricate sentence; also the same as Diploma.
[1904. W. M. Ramsay, in Expositor, June, 421. The Synthêma then was a symbol always with him which spoke direct to him; it was a pledge of success from the god who gave it, and thus filled him with god-given confidence.]
2. Math. A system of groups of elements, each of the groups being formed of a certain number of elements, so that each occurs exactly a given number of times among all the groups.
1844. Sylvester, Coll. Math. Papers (1904), I. 91. Let us agree to denote by the word syntheme any aggregate of combinations in which all the monads of a given system appear once and once only…. Let us begin with considering the case of duad synthemes. Ibid. (1879), in Amer. Jrnl. Math., II. 94.
