R: apply function family

The apply function family is R's preferred way to call a function on each element of a vector or a list.

apply(…)

lapply(…) which is moslty equal to sapply except that it returns a list rather than a vector,

Apparently, the l stands for list.

mapply(…),

sapply(…) allows to apply a function on each element of a vector. Apparently, the s stands for simplify.

rapply(…),

tapply(…)