Adjacent Words

Matrix definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MA'TRIX, n. [L. matrix, from mater, mother.]
1. The womb; the cavity in which the fetus of an animal is formed and nourished till its birth.
2. A mold; the cavity in which any thing is formed, and which gives it shape; as the matrix of a type.
3. The place where any thing is formed or produced; as the matrix of metals; gang.
4. In dyeing, the five simple colors, black, white, blue, red and yellow, of which all the rest are composed.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (mathematics) a rectangular array of quantities or expressions set out by rows and columns; treated as a single element and manipulated according to rules
2: (geology) amass of fine-grained rock in which fossils, crystals, or gems are embedded
3: an enclosure within which something originates or develops (from the Latin for womb)
4: the body substance in which tissue cells are embedded [syn: matrix, intercellular substance, ground substance]
5: the formative tissue at the base of a nail
6: mold used in the production of phonograph records, type, or other relief surface

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural matrices or matrixes) Etymology: Latin, female animal used for breeding, parent plant, from matr-, mater Date: 1555 1. something within or from which something else originates, develops, or takes form 2. a. a mold from which a relief surface (as a piece of type) is made b. die 3a(1) c. an engraved or inscribed die or stamp d. an electroformed impression of a phonograph record used for mass-producing duplicates of the original 3. a. the natural material (as soil or rock) in which something (as a fossil or crystal) is embedded b. material in which something is enclosed or embedded (as for protection or study) 4. a. the extracellular substance in which tissue cells (as of connective tissue) are embedded b. the thickened epithelium at the base of a fingernail or toenail from which new nail substance develops 5. a. a rectangular array of mathematical elements (as the coefficients of simultaneous linear equations) that can be combined to form sums and products with similar arrays having an appropriate number of rows and columns b. something resembling a mathematical matrix especially in rectangular arrangement of elements into rows and columns c. an array of circuit elements (as diodes and transistors) for performing a specific function 6. a main clause that contains a subordinate clause

Britannica Concise

Set of numbers arranged in rows and columns to form a rectangular array. Matrix elements may also be differential operators, vectors, or functions. Matrices have wide applications in engineering, physics, economics, and statistics, as well as in various branches of mathematics. They are usually first encountered in the study of systems of equations represented by matrix equations of the form , which may be solved by finding the inverse of matrix or by using an algebraic method based on its determinant.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. matrices or matrixes) 1 a mould in which a thing is cast or shaped, such as a gramophone record, printing type, etc. 2 a an environment or substance in which a thing is developed. b a womb. 3 a mass of fine-grained rock in which gems, fossils, etc., are embedded. 4 Math. a rectangular array of elements in rows and columns that is treated as a single element. 5 Biol. the substance between cells or in which structures are embedded. 6 Computing a gridlike array of interconnected circuit elements. Phrases and idioms: matrix printer = dot matrix printer (see DOT(1)). Etymology: L, = breeding-female, womb, register f. mater matris mother

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Matrix Ma"trix, n.; pl. Matrices. [L., fr. mater mother. See Mother, and cf. Matrice.] 1. (Anat.) The womb. All that openeth the matrix is mine. --Ex. xxxiv. 19. 2. Hence, that which gives form or origin to anything; as: (a) (Mech.) The cavity in which anything is formed, and which gives it shape; a die; a mold, as for the face of a type. (b) (Min.) The earthy or stony substance in which metallic ores or crystallized minerals are found; the gangue. (c) pl. (Dyeing) The five simple colors, black, white, blue, red, and yellow, of which all the rest are composed. 3. (Biol.) The lifeless portion of tissue, either animal or vegetable, situated between the cells; the intercellular substance. 4. (Math.) A rectangular arrangement of symbols in rows and columns. The symbols may express quantities or operations.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(matrices) 1. A matrix is the environment or context in which something such as a society develops and grows. (FORMAL) ...the matrix of their culture. N-COUNT: with supp 2. In mathematics, a matrix is an arrangement of numbers, symbols, or letters in rows and columns which is used in solving mathematical problems. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [L.] See matrice.

Moby Thesaurus

Platonic form, Platonic idea, aesthetic form, archetype, art form, build, cast, chimney, chute, configuration, conformation, country rock, cut, deposit, die, dike, fashion, figuration, figure, form, format, formation, frame, gangue, genre, impression, inner form, intaglio, last, layout, lode, lodestuff, make, makeup, mineral deposit, mint, modality, mode, model, mold, negative, ore bed, pattern, pay dirt, prototype, punch, seal, set, shape, shoe last, shoot, significant form, stamp, stock, structure, style, template, turn, type, uterus, vein, venter, womb