A
well-order (or
well-ordering) on a
set a
S is a
total order on
S with the property that every
nonempty subset of
S has a least element in this ordering. For example, the standard ordering of the
natural numbers is a well-ordering, but the standard ordering of the
integers is not.
The [well-ordering principle]? states that every set can be well-ordered.
See also Ordinal.
/Talk