calculus definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a hard lump produced by the concretion of mineral salts; found in hollow organs or ducts of the body; "renal calculi can be very painful" [syn: calculus, concretion]
2: an incrustation that forms on the teeth and gums [syn: tartar, calculus, tophus]
3: the branch of mathematics that is concerned with limits and with the differentiation and integration of functions [syn: calculus, infinitesimal calculus]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural calculi; also -luses) Etymology: Latin, stone (used in reckoning) Date: 1666 1. a. a method of computation or calculation in a special notation (as of logic or symbolic logic) b. the mathematical methods comprising differential and integral calculus — often used with the 2. calculation 3. a. a concretion usually of mineral salts around organic material found especially in hollow organs or ducts b. tartar I,2 4. a system or arrangement of intricate or interrelated parts

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. calculuses or calculi) 1 Math. a a particular method of calculation or reasoning (calculus of probabilities). b the infinitesimal calculuses of integration or differentiation (see integral calculus, differential calculus). 2 Med. a stone or concretion of minerals formed within the body. Derivatives: calculous adj. (in sense 2). Etymology: L, = small stone used in reckoning on an abacus

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mathematics Math`e*mat"ics, n. [F. math['e]matiques, pl., L. mathematica, sing., Gr. ? (sc. ?) science. See Mathematic, and -ics.] That science, or class of sciences, which treats of the exact relations existing between quantities or magnitudes, and of the methods by which, in accordance with these relations, quantities sought are deducible from other quantities known or supposed; the science of spatial and quantitative relations. Note: Mathematics embraces three departments, namely: 1. Arithmetic. 2. Geometry, including Trigonometry and Conic Sections. 3. Analysis, in which letters are used, including Algebra, Analytical Geometry, and Calculus. Each of these divisions is divided into pure or abstract, which considers magnitude or quantity abstractly, without relation to matter; and mixed or applied, which treats of magnitude as subsisting in material bodies, and is consequently interwoven with physical considerations.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Calculus Cal"cu*lus, n.; pl. Calculi. [L, calculus. See Calculate, and Calcule.] 1. (Med.) Any solid concretion, formed in any part of the body, but most frequent in the organs that act as reservoirs, and in the passages connected with them; as, biliary calculi; urinary calculi, etc. 2. (Math.) A method of computation; any process of reasoning by the use of symbols; any branch of mathematics that may involve calculation. Barycentric calculus, a method of treating geometry by defining a point as the center of gravity of certain other points to which co["e]fficients or weights are ascribed. Calculus of functions, that branch of mathematics which treats of the forms of functions that shall satisfy given conditions. Calculus of operations, that branch of mathematical logic that treats of all operations that satisfy given conditions. Calculus of probabilities, the science that treats of the computation of the probabilities of events, or the application of numbers to chance. Calculus of variations, a branch of mathematics in which the laws of dependence which bind the variable quantities together are themselves subject to change. Differential calculus, a method of investigating mathematical questions by using the ratio of certain indefinitely small quantities called differentials. The problems are primarily of this form: to find how the change in some variable quantity alters at each instant the value of a quantity dependent upon it. Exponential calculus, that part of algebra which treats of exponents. Imaginary calculus, a method of investigating the relations of real or imaginary quantities by the use of the imaginary symbols and quantities of algebra. Integral calculus, a method which in the reverse of the differential, the primary object of which is to learn from the known ratio of the indefinitely small changes of two or more magnitudes, the relation of the magnitudes themselves, or, in other words, from having the differential of an algebraic expression to find the expression itself.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Calculus is a branch of advanced mathematics which deals with variable quantities.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. (Med.) [L. pl. Calculi.] Morbid concretion, stone, gravel. 2. [Eng. pl. Calculuses.] Fluxions, differential and integral calculus. 3. Computation, method of computation, computative method, computative art.