different between equal vs discriminant

English

Alternative forms

• æqual (archaic), æquall (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aequ?lis, of unknown origin. Doublet of egal.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?k'w?l, IPA^(key): /?i?kw?l/
• Rhymes: -i?kw?l

Adjective

equal (not generally comparable, comparative more equal, superlative most equal)

1. (not comparable) The same in all respects.
   • 1705, George Cheyne, The Philosophical Principles of Religion Natural and Revealed

     They who are not disposed to receive them may let them alone or reject them; it is equal to me.

2. (mathematics, not comparable) Exactly identical, having the same value.
3. (obsolete) Fair, impartial.
   • Are not my ways equal?
4. (comparable) Adequate; sufficiently capable or qualified.
   • 1881, Jane Austen, Emma, page 311

     her comprehension was certainly more equal to the covert meaning, the superior intelligence, of those five letters so arranged.

   • much less is it in my power to make my commendations equal to your merits.

   • 1842, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Threnody

     […] whose voice an equal messenger / Conveyed thy meaning mild.

5. (obsolete) Not variable; equable; uniform; even.

   • an equal temper

6. (music) Intended for voices of one kind only, either all male or all female; not mixed.

Usage notes

• In mathematics, this adjective can be used in phrases like "A and B are equal", "A is equal to B", and, less commonly, "A is equal with B".
• The most common comparative use is the ironic expression more equal.

Synonyms

• (the same in all respects): identical
• (the same in all relevant respects): equivalent
• (unvarying): even, fair, uniform, unvarying

Translations

Verb

equal (third-person singular simple present equals, present participle (Commonwealth) equalling or (US) equaling, simple past and past participle (Commonwealth) equalled or (US) equaled)

1. (mathematics, copulative) To be equal to, to have the same value as; to correspond to.

2. (transitive) To make equivalent to; to cause to match.

3. (informal) To have as its consequence.

Synonyms

• (to be equal to): be, is
• (informal, have as its consequence): entail, imply, lead to, mean, result in, spell

Translations

Noun

equal (plural equals)

1. A person or thing of equal status to others.

   • Those who were once his equals envy and defame him.
2. (obsolete) State of being equal; equality.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (person or thing of equal status to others): peer

Derived terms

Related terms

• equality

Translations

Anagrams

• Quale, quale, queal

English

Noun

discriminant (plural discriminants)

1. (algebra) An expression that gives information about the roots of a polynomial; for example, the expression D = b² - 4ac determines whether the roots of the quadratic equation ax² + bx + c = 0 are real and distinct (D > 0), real and equal (D = 0) or complex (D < 0).
2. (geometry) The invariant (on the vector space of forms of degree d in n variables) that vanishes exactly when the corresponding hypersurface in P^n-1 is singular.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

discriminant (comparative more discriminant, superlative most discriminant)

1. Serving to discriminate.

Catalan

Verb

discriminant

1. present participle of discriminar

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin discr?min?ns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?s.kri.mi?n?nt/
• Hyphenation: dis?cri?mi?nant
• Rhymes: -?nt

Noun

discriminant m (plural discriminanten, diminutive discriminantje n)

1. (algebra) discriminant

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.k?i.mi.n??/

Noun

discriminant m (plural discriminants)

1. (mathematics) discriminant

Further reading

• “discriminant” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

discr?minant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of discr?min?

Romanian

Etymology

From French discriminant.

Adjective

discriminant m or n (feminine singular discriminant?, masculine plural discriminan?i, feminine and neuter plural discriminante)

1. discriminant

Declension