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Term (mathematics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A term is any value (variable or constant) or expression separated from another term by a + or - sign in an overall expression.
In elementary mathematics, a term is either a single number or variable, or the product of several numbers and/or variables. For example, in
- 3 + 4x + 5yzw
3, 4x, and 5yzw are all terms. This definition does not cover all usages in more advanced mathematics. Often term is used of a monomial with a coefficient: to 'collect like terms' in a polynomial is the basic operation of making it a linear combination of distinct monomials.
The word "term" is from the Latin terminus "boundary line, limit", from the Indo-European root ter- "peg, post, boundary". Terminus eventually came to mean "something bounded" rather than its boundary; so term acquired the meaning of a member of a collection of things with clear boundaries. In the above example, 4x is bounded by plus signs.
Binomials, trinomials, and series may all have terms.
Where the word term is used for summation, other mathematical constructs have similar terminology.
- multiplication
- Factor. In a multiplication of two factors, the first is called the multiplicand and the second is called the multiplier.
- divisions and fractions
- The top of a division is called the numerator and the bottom is called the denominator.
- Schwartzman, Steven (1994). The words of mathematics: An etymological dictionary of mathematical terms used in English. The Mathematical Association of America, 219. ISBN 0-88385-511-9.
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