Definition of

Total

Eclipse

In a total solar eclipse, the Moon covers the entire Sun, placing itself between the Earth and the star.

Total is something that includes everything in its kind . The term, coming from the Latin totus , is used to designate the universal or general .

For example: “The power outage left thousands of people in total darkness” , “All the children in this class have been infected with chickenpox” , “A total of eight people were injured by the explosion of a bottle” .

What is the total

Totality is a philosophical notion that refers to the universalistic whole that encompasses all aspects of a reality. Within a certain context, the total leaves nothing out and includes all elements . It can be said, in this sense, that the total number of starting or starting players on a soccer team is eleven. There is no other player who can join (there are no soccer teams with twelve players) and, by regulation, a team does not start a game with fewer players either.

In a similar sense, a family composed of the father, the mother and two children has four members. The total number of members, therefore, is equal to four people. If it is said that all family members have suffered a cold in the last month, this is referring to the fact that all four people experienced said health disorder.

Destroyed car

For insurance, a total loss of a car occurs when the repair is more expensive than the market price of the car.

Uses of the concept in various areas

For mathematics , the total is the result of an operation . The total of two plus two equals four ( 2+2=4 ), while the total of two times eight equals sixteen ( 2×8=16 ).

The word total has different uses depending on the country. In Argentina , for example, it can be used to denote a certain disappointment regarding the impossibility of doing something but, at the same time, an attempt to settle for real opportunities ; Let's look at two sentences that illustrate this use: “We'd better stay at home, it's really cold outside,” “We're going to the Caribbean, no matter how much we save, we won't be able to buy a house.”

In Spain , on the other hand, it can be used as a synonym for expressions such as " in summary " or " in conclusion" , the same thing that in other places is achieved through the use of the word postscript in a conversation: "Total, que me "He denied the increase and then I decided to resign," "We were talking all afternoon; "Total, that we clarified all our problems."

This term can also be used to accentuate the meaning of a noun; For example, saying "it was a total disaster" is the same as "it was an absolute disaster" , and the phrase "it was a total success" can be replaced with "it was a resounding success" .

Total loss

In the field of car insurance , a situation in which repairing a damaged vehicle costs more money than its market price is known as a total loss or loss , and this can occur for the following reasons:

  • The car is stolen and never appears, or is found with considerable damage.
  • A fire renders the vehicle irreparable.
  • The car suffers an accident that leaves it unusable.

It is worth mentioning that some insurers consider that a total loss occurs when the repair represents a value greater than 70% of the price of the car, while others place this barrier at 80% or 90%. What impact might this have for a customer whose vehicle has been involved in an accident? This depends on another extremely important variable: the compensation value , which can be new or market value .

If the policy establishes that compensation will be made for the new value , then the lower the percentage that the company considers as a total loss, the more its clients benefit, since they can count on the money to replace their car with a new one even if it has not been completely destroyed. If, on the other hand, the value is market value, and it is a relatively old model, it is likely that the amount paid by the insurer will not allow access to an equivalent product.