Cut short abruptly or having the end cut off. In computing, refers to data that has been shortened by removing digits or characters.
From Latin 'truncatus', past participle of 'truncare' meaning 'to cut off, maim'. The root 'truncus' means 'trunk' or 'main stem', reflecting the idea of cutting off branches or extremities.
The word beautifully captures both physical and digital cutting - from pruning tree trunks to databases dropping decimal places. Mathematically, truncation differs from rounding because it simply chops off digits rather than adjusting them up or down.
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