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mantissa

 - 5 dictionary results

man⋅tis⋅sa

  [man-tis-uh]
–noun
1. Mathematics. the decimal part of a common logarithm. Compare characteristic (def. 3a).
2. Obsolete. an addition of little or no importance, as to a literary work.
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Origin:
1860–65; < L, var. of mantisa addition, makeweight, said to be from Etruscan; logarithmic mantissa so called because it is additional to the characteristic or integral part (term introduced by H. Briggs)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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man·tis·sa   (mān-tĭs'ə)   
n.  The decimal part of a logarithm. In the logarithm 2.95424, the mantissa is 0.95424.

[Latin, makeweight, perhaps of Etruscan origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mantissa 
decimal part of a logarithm, 1641, from L. mantisa "a worthless addition, makeweight," probably from a Gaulish word introduced into L. via Etruscan (cf. O.Ir. meit, Welsh maint "size").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
mantissa   (mān-tĭs'ə)  Pronunciation Key 
The part of a logarithm to the base ten that is to the right of the decimal point. For example, if 2.749 is a logarithm, .749 is the mantissa. Compare characteristic.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

mantissa
1. The part of a floating point number which, when multiplied by its radix raised to the power of its exponent, gives its value. The mantissa may include the number's sign or this may be considered to be a separate part.
2. The fractional part of a logarithm.
(1996-06-15)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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