Added 9 October 2026
determinant
/dɪˈtɜːmɪnənt/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about determinant at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A determining factor; an element that determines the nature of something.
- A scalar that encodes certain characteristics of a given transformation matrix; the unique scalar function over square matrices which is distributive over matrix multiplication, multilinear in the rows and columns, and takes the value 1 for the unit matrix; abbreviated as: det.
- A substance that causes a cell to adopt a particular fate.
adjective
- Serving to determine or limit; determinative.
Origin
Borrowed from French déterminant, equivalent to determine + -ant.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)