Determinant

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Determinant \De*ter"mi*nant\, a. [L. determinans, p. pr. of
     determinare: cf. F. d['e]terminant.]
     Serving to determine or limit; determinative.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Determinant \De*ter"mi*nant\, n.
     1. That which serves to determine; that which causes
        determination.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Math.) The sum of a series of products of several
        numbers, these products being formed according to certain
        specified laws;
  
     Note: thus, the determinant of the nine numbers
           a, b, c,a', b', c',a'', b'', c'',
           is a b' c'' - a b'' c' + a' b'' c] - a' b c'' + a'' b'
           c. The determinant is written by placing the numbers
           from which it is formed in a square between two
           vertical lines. The theory of determinants forms a very
           important branch of modern mathematics.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Logic) A mark or attribute, attached to the subject or
        predicate, narrowing the extent of both, but rendering
        them more definite and precise. --Abp. Thomson.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  determinant
       adj : having the power or quality of deciding; "the crucial
             experiment"; "cast the deciding vote"; "the
             determinative (or determinant) battle" [syn: {crucial},
              {deciding(a)}, {determinative}, {determining(a)}]
       n 1: a determining or causal element or factor; "education is an
            important determinant of one's outlook on life" [syn: {determiner},
             {determinative}, {determining factor}, {causal factor}]
       2: a square matrix used to solve simultaneous equations

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  120 Moby Thesaurus words for "determinant":
     Altmann theory, DNA, De Vries theory, Galtonian theory,
     Mendelianism, Mendelism, RNA, Verworn theory, Weismann theory,
     Weismannism, Wiesner theory, allele, allelomorph, antecedent,
     antecedents, authority, base, basis, birth, border line, bordering,
     borderline, bound, boundary, boundary condition, boundary line,
     bounding, bourn, break boundary, breakoff point, call, causation,
     cause, cause and effect, ceiling, character, chromatid, chromatin,
     chromosome, circumscription, coastal, compass, confine, cutoff,
     cutoff point, deadline, delimitation, determinative, determiner,
     determining, diathesis, division line, element, end, endowment,
     etiology, eugenics, extreme, extremity, factor, finish, floor,
     fringing, frontier, gene, genesiology, genetic code, genetics,
     ground, grounds, hedge, hereditability, heredity, heritability,
     heritage, high-water mark, inborn capacity, influence,
     inheritability, inheritance, interface, limbic, limen, liminal,
     limit, limitation, limiting, limiting factor, line,
     line of demarcation, littoral, low-water mark, lower limit, march,
     marginal, mark, matrocliny, mete, occasion, patrocliny,
     pharmacogenetics, principle, reason, recessive character,
     replication, rimming, skirting, start, starting line,
     starting point, stimulus, target date, term, terminal,
     terminal date, terminus, threshold, time allotment, upper limit,
     weight