Definition:Order of Group Element/Definition 3

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Definition

Let $G$ be a group whose identity is $e_G$.

Let $x \in G$ be an element of $G$.


The order of $x$ (in $G$), denoted $\left\vert{x}\right\vert$, is the largest $k \in \Z_{\gt 0}$ such that:

$\forall i, j \in \Z: 0 \le i < j < k \implies x^i \ne x^j$


Also known as

Some sources refer to the order of an element of a group as its period.


Also denoted as

The order of an element $x$ in a group is sometimes seen as $\map o x$.

Some sources render it as $\map {\operatorname {Ord} } x$.


Also see