Find the word definition

Crossword clues for calculi

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Calculi

Calculi \Cal"cu*li\, n. pl. See Calculus.

Calculi

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.

Wiktionary
calculi

n. (plural of calculus English)

WordNet
calculi

See calculus

calculus
  1. n. 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: concretion]

  2. an incrustation that forms on the teeth and gums [syn: tartar, tophus]

  3. the branch of mathematics that is concerned with limits and with the differentiation and integration of functions [syn: the calculus, infinitesimal calculus]

  4. [also: calculi (pl)]

Usage examples of "calculi".

And for ten, twenty seconds the mathematical symbols and figures flowed and swirled in a hypnotic, sentient-seeming manner, forming rapidly mutating calculi apparently at random on the screen.

There was no actual whirlpool of numbers as such, but an ordered march of evolving calculi and ever-changing equations, like the emerging answer to a question of immense complexity, unravelling onto the screen of some gigantic computer.