What is "cyclic group"

n. (context group theory English) a (l en group) generated by a single element

In algebra, a cyclic group or monogenous group is a group that is generated by a single element. That is, it consists of a set of elements with a single invertible associative operation, and it contains an element g such that every other element of the group may be obtained by repeatedly applying the group operation or its inverse to g. Each element can be written as a power of g in multiplicative notation, or as a multiple of g in additive notation. This element g is called a generator of the group.

Every infinite cyclic group is isomorphic to the additive group of Z, the integers. Every finite cyclic group of order n is isomorphic to the additive group of Z/nZ, the integers modulo n. Every cyclic group is an abelian group (meaning that its group operation is commutative), and every finitely generated abelian group is a direct product of cyclic groups.