binomial

binomial (baɪˈnəʊmɪəl)

—n
1.	a mathematical expression consisting of two terms, such as 3x + 2y
2.	See binomial nomenclature a two-part taxonomic name for an animal or plant

—*adj*
3.	referring to two names or terms

[C16: from Medieval Latin binōmius from bi-¹ + Latin nōmenname]

bi'nomially

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon

Main Entry:	binomial
Part of Speech:	n
Definition:	See binominal name

Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

binomial

1550s, from L.L. binomius "having two personal names" (from bi- + nomius, from nomen; see name). Taken up 16c. in the algebraic sense "consisting of two terms."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

binomial bi·no·mi·al (bī-nō'mē-əl)
adj.
Consisting of two terms or names, such as the genus and species names of organisms. n.
A taxonomic name used in binomial nomenclature.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

binomial

(bī-nō'mē-əl) Pronunciation Key
A mathematical expression that is the sum of two monomials, such as 3a + 2b.

Example sentences

When dealing with large populations, the sample size is determined using the normal approximation to the binomial distribution.

Ultimately, even our higher thought processes can be reduced to the same binomial reductionism.

Binomial nomenclature helps us to understand the relationship between animals.

And so on for each successive locus, resulting in a biological binomial distribution.

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binomial nomenclature Hardy-Weinberg law Linnaean multinomial multinomial theorem Pascal's triangle

Matching Quote

"Both Leonardo and Newton had fecund imaginations from which poured forth a stream of discoveries, gadgets, engineering marvels, and farsighted contrivances. Newton invented the reflecting telescope, Leonardo the helicopter; Newton, the binomial theorem, Leonardo, the parachute, submarine, and tank. Newton's discover ies were expressed in equations. Leonardo's in drawings. Leonardo made many contributions to science, both in theory and application, but he is principally featured in art history classes. Newton wrote lengthy exegeses on alchemy, the mysteries of the Trinity, and the authority of the Bible, yet he is considered history's premier physicist.... Each man transformed the science of his day from one that held an essentially static view of the universe into one that included motion. The subject of motion consumed them both and their greatest contributions to humankind grew out of an intense curiosity about it. Newton's ambitious desire to explain celes tial movements resulted in the formulation of his three famous laws of motion and his discovery of the inverse square law of gravitation. Leonardo's compelling studies of the muscular movements of men and horses, exemplified in his cartoons for his Battle of Anghiari, are the most detailed anatomical descriptions of men and animals in motion that have ever been produced."

-Leonard Shlain

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