1. (converse) (of a binary relation R) A derived relation R−1 such that
where
x and
y are arbitrary elements of the set to which
R applies. The inverse of ‘greater than’ defined on integers is ‘less than’.
The inverse of a function
(if it exists) is another function,
f−1, such that
and
It is not necessary that a function has an inverse function.
Since for each monadic function f a relation R can be introduced such that
then the inverse relation can be defined as
and this always exists. When
f−1 exists (i.e.
R−1 is itself a function)
f is said to be
invertible and
f−1 is the
inverse (or
converse)
function. Then, for all
x,
To illustrate, if
f is a function that maps each wife to her husband and
g maps each husband to his wife, then
f and
g are inverses of one another.
3. (of a conditional P→Q). The statement Q→P.