Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Induction \In*duc"tion\, n. [L. inductio: cf. F. induction. See
   {Induct}.]
   1. The act or process of inducting or bringing in;
      introduction; entrance; beginning; commencement.

            I know not you; nor am I well pleased to make this
            time, as the affair now stands, the induction of
            your acquaintance.                    --Beau. & Fl.

            These promises are fair, the parties sure, And our
            induction dull of prosperous hope.    --Shak.

   2. An introduction or introductory scene, as to a play; a
      preface; a prologue. [Obs.]

            This is but an induction: I will d?aw The curtains
            of the tragedy hereafter.             --Massinger.

   3. (Philos.) The act or process of reasoning from a part to a
      whole, from particulars to generals, or from the
      individual to the universal; also, the result or inference
      so reached.

            Induction is an inference drawn from all the
            particulars.                          --Sir W.
                                                  Hamilton.

            Induction is the process by which we conclude that
            what is true of certain individuals of a class, is
            true of the whole class, or that what is true at
            certain times will be true in similar circumstances
            at all times.                         --J. S. Mill.

   4. The introduction of a clergyman into a benefice, or of an
      official into a office, with appropriate acts or
      ceremonies; the giving actual possession of an
      ecclesiastical living or its temporalities.

   5. (Math.) A process of demonstration in which a general
      truth is gathered from an examination of particular cases,
      one of which is known to be true, the examination being so
      conducted that each case is made to depend on the
      preceding one; -- called also {successive induction}.

   6. (Physics) The property by which one body, having
      electrical or magnetic polarity, causes or induces it in
      another body without direct contact; an impress of
      electrical or magnetic force or condition from one body on
      another without actual contact.

   {Electro-dynamic induction}, the action by which a variable
      or interrupted current of electricity excites another
      current in a neighboring conductor forming a closed
      circuit.

   {Electro-magnetic induction}, the influence by which an
      electric current produces magnetic polarity in certain
      bodies near or around which it passes.

   {Electro-static induction}, the action by which a body
      possessing a charge of statical electricity develops a
      charge of statical electricity of the opposite character
      in a neighboring body.

   {Induction coil}, an apparatus producing induced currents of
      great intensity. It consists of a coil or helix of stout
      insulated copper wire, surrounded by another coil of very
      fine insulated wire, in which a momentary current is
      induced, when a current (as from a voltaic battery),
      passing through the inner coil, is made, broken, or
      varied. The inner coil has within it a core of soft iron,
      and is connected at its terminals with a condenser; --
      called also {inductorium}, and {Ruhmkorff's coil}.

   {Induction pipe}, {port}, or {valve}, a pipe, passageway, or
      valve, for leading or admitting a fluid to a receiver, as
      steam to an engine cylinder, or water to a pump.

   {Magnetic induction}, the action by which magnetic polarity
      is developed in a body susceptible to magnetic effects
      when brought under the influence of a magnet.

   {Magneto-electric induction}, the influence by which a magnet
      excites electric currents in closed circuits.

   {Logical induction}, (Philos.), an act or method of reasoning
      from all the parts separately to the whole which they
      constitute, or into which they may be united collectively;
      the operation of discovering and proving general
      propositions; the scientific method.

   {Philosophical induction}, the inference, or the act of
      inferring, that what has been observed or established in
      respect to a part, individual, or species, may, on the
      ground of analogy, be affirmed or received of the whole to
      which it belongs. This last is the inductive method of
      Bacon. It ascends from the parts to the whole, and forms,
      from the general analogy of nature, or special
      presumptions in the case, conclusions which have greater
      or less degrees of force, and which may be strengthened or
      weakened by subsequent experience and experiment. It
      relates to actual existences, as in physical science or
      the concerns of life. Logical induction is founded on the
      necessary laws of thought; philosophical induction, on the
      interpretation of the indications or analogy of nature.

Source : WordNet®

induction
     n 1: a formal entry into an organization or position or office;
          "his initiation into the club"; "he was ordered to
          report for induction into the army"; "he gave a speech
          as part of his installation into the hall of fame" [syn:
           {initiation}, {installation}]
     2: an electrical phenomenon whereby an electromotive force
        (EMF) is generated in a closed circuit by a change in the
        flow of current
     3: reasoning from detailed facts to general principles [syn: {generalization},
         {generalisation}, {inductive reasoning}]
     4: the process whereby changes in the current flow in a circuit
        produce magnetism or an EMF
     5: stimulation that calls up (draws forth) a particular class
        of behaviors; "the elicitation of his testimony was not
        easy" [syn: {evocation}, {elicitation}]
     6: (physics) a property of an electric circuit by which an
        electromotive force is induced in it by a variation of
        current [syn: {inductance}]
     7: the act of bringing about something (especially at an early
        time); "the induction of an anesthetic state"
     8: an act that sets in motion some course of events [syn: {trigger},
         {initiation}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

induction
     
         A method of proving statements about {well-ordered
        sets}.  If S is a well-ordered set with ordering "<", and we
        want to show that a property P holds for every element of S,
        it is sufficient to show that, for all s in S,
     
        	IF for all t in S, t < s => P(t) THEN P(s)
     
        I.e. if P holds for anything less than s then it holds for s.
        In this case we say P is proved by induction.
     
        The most common instance of proof by induction is induction
        over the {natural numbers} where we prove that some property
        holds for n=0 and that if it holds for n, it holds for n+1.
     
        (In fact it is sufficient for "<" to be a {well-founded}
        {partial order} on S, not necessarily a well-ordering of S.)
     
        (1999-12-09)