CALCULUS

calculus, infinitesimal calculus

(noun) the branch of mathematics that is concerned with limits and with the differentiation and integration of functions

calculus, concretion

(noun) 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”

tartar, calculus, tophus

(noun) an incrustation that forms on the teeth and gums

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

calculus (countable and uncountable, plural calculi or calculuses)

(dated, countable) Calculation; computation.

(countable, mathematics) Any formal system in which symbolic expressions are manipulated according to fixed rules.

(uncountable, often, definite, the calculus) Differential calculus and integral calculus considered as a single subject; analysis.

(countable, medicine) A stony concretion that forms in a bodily organ.

(uncountable, dentistry) Deposits of calcium phosphate salts on teeth.

(countable) A decision-making method, especially one appropriate for a specialised realm.

Synonyms

• (calculation, computation): ciphering, reckoning; see also calculation

• (in analysis): infinitesimal calculus

• (in medicine): stone

• (in dentistry): dental calculus, tartar

Source: Wiktionary


Cal"cu*lus, n.; pl. Calculi Etym: [L, calculus. See Calculate, and Calcule.]

1. (Med.)

Definition: 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.)

Definition: 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 coëfficients 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 March 2024

HUDDLED

(adjective) crowded or massed together; “give me...your huddled masses”; “the huddled sheep turned their backs against the wind”


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