pol·y·no·mi·al

[pol-uh-noh-mee-uhl]
adjective
1.
consisting of or characterized by two or more names or terms.
noun
2.
Algebra.
a.
(in one variable) an expression consisting of the sum of two or more terms each of which is the product of a constant and a variable raised to an integral power: ax 2 + bx + c is a polynomial, where a, b, and c are constants and x is a variable.
b.
a similar expression in more than one variable, as 4 x 2 y 3 − 3 xy + 5 x + 7.
c.
Now Rare.. Also called multinomial. any expression consisting of the sum of two or more terms, as 4 x 3 + cos x.
3.
a polynomial name or term.
4.
Biology. a species name containing more than two terms.

Origin:
1665–75; poly- + (bi)nomial

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To polynomial
00:10
Polynomial is always a great word to know.
So is kin selection. Does it mean:
mode of organization; construction and arrangement of tissues, parts, or organs
natural selection that favors altruistic behavior toward close relatives resulting in an increase in the individual's genetic contribution to the gene pool
Collins
World English Dictionary
polynomial (ˌpɒlɪˈnəʊmɪəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  of, consisting of, or referring to two or more names or terms
 
n
2.  a.  a mathematical expression consisting of a sum of terms each of which is the product of a constant and one or more variables raised to a positive or zero integral power. For one variable, x, the general form is given by: a0xn + a1xn--1 + … + an--1x + an, where a0, a1, etc, are real numbers
 b.  Also called: multinomial any mathematical expression consisting of the sum of a number of terms
3.  biology a taxonomic name consisting of more than two terms, such as Parus major minor in which minor designates the subspecies

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

polynomial definition


1. An arithmetic expression composed by summing multiples of powers of some variable.
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. polynomial-time.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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Example sentences
For linear systems these errors will grow in a linear or maybe polynomial
  manner.
Impressively, their algorithm works in polynomial time, which means that a
  solution can always be found reasonably quickly.
The hat fills with words to warm a coder's heart: bubble sort, polynomial,
  integration.
In addition, there are a few important problems that gain a polynomial speedup.
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