Mathematics Stack Exchange
Mathematics Stack Exchange

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.

8534 questions
3
votes
2 answers

Reality, realizing, affinity, etc.: A terminology question

In Snapper & Troyer's book Metric Affine Geometry the word "reality" at one point occurs in the phrase (IIRC) "reality problems", meaning questions about whether the imaginary part of a complex number is indeed zero. And in a paper I had in the…
Michael Hardy
  • 1
3
votes
2 answers

Business math: how to say increasing faster and faster

I have to make a presentation to business directors and I want to explain that for a particular item, the function of cost in effort is beyond "linear growth". Here's where it gets hairy. My function is effort = $ax^b$ or said in English "Effort is…
Mishax
  • 133
3
votes
0 answers

How to call this homomorphism-like property?

In my communication theory work I derived a property that is essentially \begin{align} f(x)\cdot f(y) = f(x-y) \cdot A^N \end{align} where $A^N$ is some quantity from the technical context that is obviously preventing $f$ from being a…
GDumphart
  • 2,250
3
votes
1 answer

What do we call a model of the empty signature?

Consider a model of the empty unsorted signature. Equivalently, a model of the signature having a single sort, and no function or relation symbols. Intuitively, such a model should be called a "set." However, the emphasis is all wrong. For example,…
goblin GONE
  • 67,744
3
votes
1 answer

What is the technical term for the $n$-dimensional generalization of the unit interval?

What is the technical term for an $n$-dimensional generalization of the unit interval $[0, 1]$? Would we call an $n = 1,2,3,...$ dimensional generalization of the unit interval an $n$-cube?
user105766
  • 31
3
votes
1 answer

Is there a name for the value $x$ such that $f(x)$ is maximum?

Obviously, $f(x)$ is called the "maximum value" or simply "maximum", but what is $x$ called? The maximizer? Additionally, what if $f(x)$ is minimum or simply an extremum?
Vortico
  • 1,633
3
votes
1 answer

What to call the initial members of an ordered set?

If I have an ordered set X = {a, b, c} and another ordered set Y = {a, b}, I know that that Y is a subset of X but I also want to convey that Y is the prefix of X if that makes sense. Is there a name for that?
Sydius
  • 215
3
votes
3 answers

Is there a word for the classification of a set as infinite or finite?

For example, in computer science, there can be zero, one, two, etc. parameters to a computer program, and this is called its "arity". Sets can be countable or uncountable. Is there some word I can use to say "this set's ___" is infinite/finite, or…
Anonymous
  • 227
3
votes
1 answer

Is there a name for subtracting a set of values from their max?

I hope this question is appropriate here - if it isn't let me know and I will remove it. I am wondering if there is a verb for the following operation: given a set of non-negative numbers, I take their max and then subtract the numbers from the max.…
Bitwise
  • 1,216
3
votes
2 answers

Is it mathematically proper to call the constant term in a polynomial a coefficient?

Main character Althea asks about the square root of -1, and her mom (who's a math professor) tells the story of how the solution of cubic equations led to the creation of complex numbers. One reader said I was using the word coefficients incorrectly…
Sue VanHattum
  • 141
3
votes
1 answer

What does it mean to say "something over set"?

For example, when it comes to strings and languages, we say that an alphabet is any finite set and a string over alphabet is a finite sequence of symbols from the alphabet. What does, "string over alphabet," mean? Does it mean that just that, "a…
Oliver
  • 183
3
votes
0 answers

Standard terminology for n/gcd(n,m).

Let $n,m$ be positive integers. Is there a standard terminology and notation for the quotient of $n$ divided by the greatest common divisor of $n$ and $m$, i.e., for the integer $\frac{n}{\gcd(n,m)} = \frac{\mathrm{lcm}(n,m)}{m}$?
drdiem
  • 29
3
votes
0 answers

What is the name of the property $f(a+b) = f(f(a)+f(b))$

This comes up in a few places. Off the top of my head, this is satisfied by ideals and their radicals as in $r(I+J) = r(r(I)+r(J))$.
Adam Karlson
  • 355
3
votes
1 answer

What is the mathematical term and symbol for division without remainders?

What is the mathematical term and symbol for division without remainders? Take for example 322 / 100. I know 322 / 100 is division and the result is 3.22. I know 322 % 100 is a modulo and the result is 22. But what is the proper term and symbol for…
mikemaccana
  • 145
3
votes
2 answers

What can we call a set of sets of sets?

When I’m referring to a set of sets, I like using the expression “a family of sets”, or “a collection of sets”, as is customary. But I was wondering, what if we needed to refer to a set of sets of sets? I have not found a specific word that…
Federico
  • 862
1 2 3
…
49 50