Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Variant

Variant , adjective

[Latin varians, present participle of variare to change: compare French variant. See Vary.]

1.
Varying in form, character, or the like; variable; different; diverse.
2.
Changeable; changing; fickle. [Obsolete]
He is so variant, he abit [abides] nowhere. — Chaucer

Variant , noun

[Compare French variante.]

Something which differs in form from another thing, though really the same; as, a variant from a type in natural history; a variant of a story or a word.