matrix

English Online Dictionary. What means matrix‎? What does matrix mean?

English

Alternative forms

• matrice (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English matris, matrice, matrix, from Old French matrice (“pregnant animal”), or from Latin mātrīx (“dam, womb”), both ultimately from māter (“mother”). Doublet of mother from Indo-European ancestor.

Slang usage coined with the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈmeɪ.tɹɪks/, enPR: māʹtrĭks
  • IPA^(key): /ˈmæt.ɹɪks/, enPR: mătʹrĭks
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈmæɪ.tɹɪks/
• (India) IPA^(key): /mæːʈ.rɪks/, /mɛʈ.rɪks/
• Rhymes: -eɪtɹɪks, -ætɹɪks

Noun

matrix (plural matrices or matrixes)

1. The cavity or mold in which anything is formed.
2. (now rare) The womb.
3. The metaphorical place where something is made, formed, or given birth.
4. (biology) The material or tissue in which more specialized structures are embedded.
5. (biology) An extracellular matrix, the material or tissue between the cells of animals or plants.
6. (biology) Part of the mitochondrion.
7. (biology) The medium in which bacteria are cultured.
8. A table of data.
9. (mathematics) A rectangular arrangement of numbers or terms having various uses such as transforming coordinates in geometry, solving systems of linear equations in linear algebra and representing graphs in graph theory.
   • 2007, Gerhard Kloos, Matrix Methods for Optical Layout, SPIE Press, page 25,

     The matrix describing the reflection at a plane mirror can be obtained by taking the matrix for reflection at a spherical reflector and letting the radius of the spherical mirror tend to infinity.

10. (computing) A two-dimensional array.
11. (slang, figurative, science fiction) Alternative letter-case form of Matrix; a controlled environment or situation in which people behave in ways that conform to pre-determined roles.
12. (electronics) A grid-like arrangement of electronic components, especially one intended for information coding, decoding or storage.
13. (geology) A geological matrix.
14. (archaeology, paleontology) The sediment surrounding and including the artifacts, features, and other materials at a site.
15. (analytical chemistry) The environment from which a given sample is taken.
17. (printing, historical) In hot metal typesetting, a mold for casting a letter.
18. (printing, historical) In printmaking, the plate or block used, with ink, to hold the image that makes up the print.

    Synonym: printing form

19. (dyeing) The five simple colours (black, white, blue, red, and yellow) from which all the others are formed.
20. (material science) A binding agent of composite materials, e.g. resin in fibreglass.

Synonyms

• (mathematics): array, table
• (table of data): array, grid, spreadsheet, table
• (computing): array

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Czech

Etymology

Derived from Latin matrix.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmatrɪks]

Noun

matrix m inan

1. (biology) matrix

Declension

Related terms

• See mater

Further reading

• matrix in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz
• “matrix”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Danish

Noun

matrix

1. (mathematics) matrix

Declension

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin mātrīx. Cognate with matrijs. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaːtrɪks/
• Hyphenation: ma‧trix

Noun

matrix f (plural matrices or matrixen, diminutive matrixje n)

1. (mathematics) matrix (type of array)

Derived terms

• eenheidsmatrix
• identiteitsmatrix

Latin

Etymology

From māter +‎ -trīx, with haplology.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmaː.triːks/, [ˈmäːt̪riːks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.triks/, [ˈmäːt̪riks]

Noun

mātrīx f (genitive mātrīcis); third declension

1. uterus, womb
2. dam (non-human female animal kept for breeding)
3. source, origin
4. list, register

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Derived terms

• mātrīcālis
• mātrīcula

Descendants

References

• “matrix”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• matrix in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• matrix in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Noun

matrix

1. Alternative form of matrice

Polish

Alternative forms

• matriks

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.triks/
• Rhymes: -atriks
• Syllabification: ma‧trix

Etymology 1

Unadapted borrowing from English Matrix. Doublet of matryca.

Noun

matrix m inan

1. (science fiction, slang) Matrix (simulated reality to which many humans are connected; in some works, it is created by sentient machines to subdue humans)

Declension

Etymology 2

Unadapted borrowing from Latin mātrīx. Doublet of matryca.

Noun

matrix m inan

1. low-melting alloy of bismuth with lead (28–29%), tin (14–15%), and antimony (8.5–10.5%)

Declension

Noun

matrix f (indeclinable)

1. (cytology) intercellular substance, matrix (body substance in which tissue cells are embedded)

Further reading

• matrix in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• matrix in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• matrix in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Noun

matrix f (uncountable)

1. Matrix
   1. fictional machine system
   2. any illusory system