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Questions tagged [terminology]

Questions on the usage and meaning of words in mathematics, the names for mathematical entities, and other such questions.

Terminology is a discipline that studies, among other things, the development of terms and their interrelationships. This tag is intended to be used for questions on the usage and meaning of words in mathematics, the names for mathematical entities, and other such questions.

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What is the term for the smallest number that two numbers can both divide into evenly?

For example, for the numbers $2$ and $3$ it would be $6$, which is the smallest number that's evenly divisible by both $2$ and $3$. More examples: for $10$ and $40$ it would be $40$. For $7$ and $11$ it would be $77$. For $3$ and $5$ it would be…
temporary_user_name
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"namespace clutter" in mathematics

In programming, if you had a lot of functions and variables defined such that loading new functions / variables overwrites existing ones, you'd call it namespace clutter (or at least, that's one term for it). In mathematics (or science disciplines),…
keflavich
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Need for rigorous meaning in English for definitions from my reference book

I need verification for some expression in definitions which I can't completely get. Although English isn't my natal language, I still find a confusion with these words, with which just a little bit of punctuation or tonnality can flip upside down…
freehumorist
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Name and symbol for "direct" multiplication

This is a really simple question and I feel pretty stupid for asking it, but what do you call the operation that takes two vectors $(x_1, x_2 ...)$ and $(y_1, y_2 ...)$ and results in a new vector $(x_1 y_1, x_2 y_2 ...)$? And what is the standard…
Lucas
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What is the difference between formal product and product?

Let $X$ be a countably infinite set. Let $\prod$ denote the free abelian semigroup generated by $X.$ Apparently $\prod$ consists of all the 'formal products' of the form $\prod_{P \in X} P^{a_P}$ there $a_P$ are non-negative integers, and 0 for all…
green frog
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Is there a specific format for writing "where variable x represents/is"

For instance, I have the equation y = mx, where m is the slope. Is there a concise and mathematical way to write "where m is the slope"?
Andrew Wang
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Is there a name given to a group of symbols which are multiplied together?

If I have several terms (is that the right word?) multiplied together, is there a name for such a group? E.g. $a \times b \times c + d \times e=z$ What would you call the groups $a \times b \times c$ and $d \times e$?
Adrian
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Help to translate mathematical definitions

I'm from a non speaking english country so many concepts I learn are translated to my native language and most of them I can easily translate or find them but these one I can´t seem to: (I will post the direct translation followed by the…
Bidon
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What does the following notation mean: $\{q(x) : x\in A\}$?

I have a definition from my lecture notes, but it makes hardly any sense. Could someone explain it to me, maybe with an example? What does the following notation mean: $\{q(x) : x\in A\}$?
new to coding
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Is there a mathematical term meaning "the original assumption"?

Is there a term which refers strictly to the foundational assumption(s) that a proof is based off of? I don't mean this in the sense of an axiom, but rather, for example, stating that $m \in \mathbb{R}$ and $n \in \mathbb{Z}$ at the start of the…
VortixDev
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Is there a mathematical term for "implied by an assertion"?

For example, given the assertion that $m, n \in \mathbb{R}^{+}$, then $m + n \in \mathbb{R}^{+}$. This is not something that was originally asserted, but it is a direct logical consequence of the original assertion. Is there a commonly used term for…
VortixDev
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Is there a name for operators that turns $\times$ to $+$ and $/$ to $-$?

Just out of curiosity, is there an official names for functions/operator that turns $\times$ to $+$ and $/$ to $-$? A few of examples comes to mind log exp argument of a complex number "arg"
Olórin
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A word for fixing one of two independent variables to ___ a function of two variables into a function of one variable.

I vaguely remember that a joint probability density $f(x,y)$ can be marginalized into a function of one variable $\int f(x,y)dx=F(y)$. Is there a corresponding word for "collapsing" a function $f(x,y)$ of two variables into a function $g(y)=f(x,y)$…
Museful
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A sphere missing a piece is called what? an incomplete sphere?

What can we call a sphere that is missing a spherical sector or any other connected piece ? What can we call a sphere minus an open simple curve ? I have found in page 96 in "Heather A. Dye,An Invitation to Knot Theory: Virtual and Classical, CRC…
Medo
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Can the functions that have only $1$ variable in their argument be called a composite function?

Can I call functions like $\sin x , \tan^{-1} x , e^ x $ etc composite functions too? If not, then what do I call them? I mean taking individual names like exponential function, sine function etc doesn't seem convenient. What is correct term for…
William
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