A variable defined in a function or method declaration that specifies what type of input the function expects to receive. Parameters act as placeholders that get filled with actual values when the function is called.
From Greek 'para' (beside) + 'metron' (measure), originally meaning an auxiliary variable in mathematics. Computing adopted the term in the 1950s to describe the input specifications in function definitions, maintaining the mathematical concept of variables that define the scope of a function.
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