Matrix

[mey-triks, ma-] /ˈmeɪ trɪks, ˈmæ-/

noun, plural matrices
[mey-tri-seez, ma-] /ˈmeɪ trɪˌsiz, ˈmæ-/ (Show IPA), matrixes.
1.
something that constitutes the place or point from which something else originates, takes form, or develops:
The Greco-Roman world was the matrix for Western civilization.
2.
Anatomy. a formative part, as the corium beneath a nail.
3.
Biology.

4.
Petrology. the fine-grained portion of a rock in which coarser crystals or rock fragments are embedded.
5.
fine material, as cement, in which lumps of coarser material, as of an aggregate, are embedded.
6.
Mining. .
7.
Metallurgy. a crystalline phase in an alloy in which other phases are embedded.
8.
Printing. a mold for casting typefaces.
9.
(def 18).
10.
(in a press or stamping machine) a multiple die or perforated block on which the material to be formed is placed.
11.
Mathematics. a rectangular array of numbers, algebraic symbols, or mathematical functions, especially when such arrays are added and multiplied according to certain rules.
12.
Linguistics. a rectangular display of features characterizing a set of linguistic items, especially phonemes, usually presented as a set of columns of plus or minus signs specifying the presence or absence of each feature for each item.
13.
Also called master. a mold made by electroforming from a disk recording, from which other disks may be pressed.
14.
Archaic. the womb.
/ˈmeɪtrɪks; ˈmæ-/
noun (pl) matrices (ˈmeɪtrɪˌsiːz; ˈmæ-), matrixes
1.
a substance, situation, or environment in which something has its origin, takes form, or is enclosed
2.
(anatomy) the thick tissue at the base of a nail from which a fingernail or toenail develops
3.
the intercellular substance of bone, cartilage, connective tissue, etc
4.

5.
(printing)

6.
(formerly) a mould used in the production of gramophone records. It is obtained by electrodeposition onto the master
7.
a bed of perforated material placed beneath a workpiece in a press or stamping machine against which the punch operates
8.
(metallurgy)

9.
the main component of a composite material, such as the plastic in a fibre-reinforced plastic
10.
(maths) a rectangular array of elements set out in rows and columns, used to facilitate the solution of problems, such as the transformation of coordinates. Usually indicated by parentheses: (matrix) Compare determinant (sense 3)
11.
(linguistics) the main clause of a complex sentence
12.
(computing) a rectangular array of circuit elements usually used to generate one set of signals from another
13.
(obsolete) the womb
n.

late 14c., “uterus, womb,” from Old French matrice “womb, uterus,” from Latin matrix (genitive matricis) “pregnant animal,” in Late Latin “womb,” also “source, origin,” from mater (genitive matris) “mother” (see mother (n.1)). Sense of “place or medium where something is developed” is first recorded 1550s; sense of “embedding or enclosing mass” first recorded 1640s. Logical sense of “array of possible combinations of truth-values” is attested from 1914. As a verb from 1951.

matrix ma·trix (mā’trĭks)
n. pl. ma·trix·es or ma·tri·ces (mā’trĭ-sēz’, māt’rĭ-)

matrix
(mā’trĭks)
Plural matrices (mā’trĭ-sēz’, māt’rĭ-) or matrixes

[FidoNet] 1. What the Opus BBS software and sysops call FidoNet.
2. Fanciful term for a cyberspace expected to emerge from current networking experiments (see network, the).
3. The totality of present-day computer networks.
[Jargon File]