Minus

6 definitions found

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

  Minus \Mi"nus\ (m[imac]"n[u^]s), a. [L. See {Minor}, and cf.
     {Mis-} pref. from the French.] (Math.)
     Less; requiring to be subtracted; negative; as, a minus
     quantity.
     [1913 Webster]
  


     {Minus sign} (Math.), the sign [-] denoting minus, or less,
        prefixed to negative quantities, or quantities to be
        subtracted. See {Negative sign}, under {Negative}.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  minus \mi"nus\ (m[imac]"n[u^]s), n.; pl. {minuses}
     (m[imac]"n[u^]s*[-e]z).
     A factor counted as a disadvantage; a loss or potential loss
     in a situation or plan; as, he added up all the pluses and
     minuses and decided not to do it; as, the lack of money is a
     big minus in an election campaign.
     [PJC]

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

  Negative \Neg"a*tive\ (n[e^]g"[.a]*t[i^]v), a. [F. n['e]gatif,
     L. negativus, fr. negare to deny. See {Negation}.]
     1. Denying; implying, containing, or asserting denial,
        negation or refusal; returning the answer no to an inquiry
        or request; refusing assent; as, a negative answer; a
        negative opinion; -- opposed to {affirmative}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              If thou wilt confess,
              Or else be impudently negative.       --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Denying me any power of a negative voice. --Eikon
                                                    Basilike.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Something between an affirmative bow and a negative
              shake.                                --Dickens.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Not positive; without affirmative statement or
        demonstration; indirect; consisting in the absence of
        something; privative; as, a negative argument; negative
        evidence; a negative morality; negative criticism.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              There in another way of denying Christ, . . . which
              is negative, when we do not acknowledge and confess
              him.                                  --South.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Logic) Asserting absence of connection between a subject
        and a predicate; as, a negative proposition.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Photog.) Of or pertaining to a picture upon glass or
        other material, in which the lights and shades of the
        original, and the relations of right and left, are
        reversed.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Chem.) Metalloidal; nonmetallic; -- contrasted with
        {positive} or {basic}; as, the nitro group is negative.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: This word, derived from electro-negative, is now
           commonly used in a more general sense, when acidiferous
           is the intended signification.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Negative crystal}.
        (a) A cavity in a mineral mass, having the form of a
            crystal.
        (b) A crystal which has the power of negative double
            refraction. See {refraction}.
  
     {negative electricity} (Elec.), the kind of electricity which
        is developed upon resin or ebonite when rubbed, or which
        appears at that pole of a voltaic battery which is
        connected with the plate most attacked by the exciting
        liquid; -- formerly called {resinous electricity}. Opposed
        to {positive electricity}. Formerly, according to
        Franklin's theory of a single electric fluid, negative
        electricity was supposed to be electricity in a degree
        below saturation, or the natural amount for a given body.
        See {Electricity}.
  
     {Negative eyepiece}. (Opt.) see under {Eyepiece}.
  
     {Negative quantity} (Alg.), a quantity preceded by the
        negative sign, or which stands in the relation indicated
        by this sign to some other quantity. See {Negative sign}
        (below).
  
     {Negative rotation}, right-handed rotation. See
        {Right-handed}, 3.
  
     {Negative sign}, the sign -, or {minus} (opposed in
        signification to +, or {plus}), indicating that the
        quantity to which it is prefixed is to be subtracted from
        the preceding quantity, or is to be reckoned from zero or
        cipher in the opposite direction to that of quanties
        having the sign plus either expressed or understood; thus,
        in a - b, b is to be substracted from a, or regarded as
        opposite to it in value; and -10[deg] on a thermometer
        means 10[deg] below the zero of the scale.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  minus
       adj 1: on the negative side or lower end of a scale; "minus 5
              degrees"; "a grade of B minus" [ant: {plus}]
       2: involving disadvantage or harm; "minus (or negative)
          factors" [syn: {negative}]
       n : an arithmetic operation in which the difference between two
           numbers is calculated; "the subtraction of three from
           four leaves one"; "four minus three equals one" [syn: {subtraction}]

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

  52 Moby Thesaurus words for "minus":
     barring, bereaved, bereaved of, bereft, cut off, decrement,
     deduction, deficient, denuded, deprived of, devoid, discounting,
     divested, except, excepting, exception taken of, excluding,
     exclusive of, existless, from, inadequate, inferior, insufficient,
     lacking, leaving out, less, minuend, missing, negative,
     nonexistent, not counting, null, off, out of, parted from, plus,
     positive, robbed of, sans, save, shorn of, short, short of,
     stripped of, subtrahend, unexisting, unreached, vacuous, void,
     wanting, without, without being
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  minus
       
          -
       
          Common: dash; {ITU-T}: hyphen; {ITU-T}: minus.  Rare:
          {INTERCAL}: worm; option; dak; bithorpe.