Parameterize

Parameterize (v.): to express in terms of parameters; to rewrite as a template into which parameters can be inserted.

To parameterize, according to Robert G. Fovell, is "to make things up." Parameterize comes from the Greek words para,"around," and metron, "to measure." Thus, to parameterize is to measure around. In meteorology, parameterization occurs when something is too small to fit into a forecasting model, so data has to be made up for it. Parameterization is measuring around that small something.