[pol-uh-noh-mee-uh
l] 
| 1. | consisting of or characterized by two or more names or terms. |
| 2. | Algebra.
|
| 3. | a polynomial name or term. |
| 4. | Biology. a species name containing more than two terms. |
| pol·y·no·mi·al (pŏl'ē-nō'mē-əl) adj. Of, relating to, or consisting of more than two names or terms. n.
[poly- + (bi)nomial.] |
| polynomial (pŏl'ē-nō'mē-əl) Pronunciation Key
An algebraic expression that is the sum of two or more monomials. The expressions x2 - 4 and 5x4 + 2x3 - x + 7 are both polynomials. |
polynomial
1.
P(x) = sum a_i x^i for i = 0 .. N
The multipliers, a_i, are known as "coefficients" and N, the highest power of x with a non-zero coefficient, is known as the "degree" of the polynomial. If N=0 then P(x) is constant, if N=1, P(x) is linear in x. N=2 gives a "quadratic" and N=3, a "cubic".
2.