Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Consisting of or relating to two names or terms.
  • noun Mathematics A polynomial with two terms.
  • noun Biology A taxonomic name in binomial nomenclature.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In algebra, consisting of two terms connected by the sign + or —; pertaining to binomials.
  • In zoology and botany: Using or having two names: applied to the system of nomenclature introduced by Linnæus, in which every plant and animal receives two names, one indicating the genus, the other the species: as, Felis leo, the lion; Bellis perennis, the daisy.
  • Hence— Consisting of two names: as, binomial terms. Also binominal.
  • noun In algebra, an expression or quantity consisting of two terms connected by the sign + or —, denoting the sum or the difference of the two terms: as, a + b, 3a—2c, a + b, x—2 √ y.
  • noun In zoology and botany, a name consisting of two terms, generic and specific, as the proper name of a species, the generic always preceding the specific word: as, Felis leo, the lion.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Alg.) An expression consisting of two terms connected by the sign plus (+) or minus (-); as, a + b, or 7 - 3.
  • adjective Consisting of two terms; pertaining to binomials.
  • adjective (Nat. Hist.) Having two names; -- used of the system by which every animal and plant receives two names, the one indicating the genus, the other the species, to which it belongs.
  • adjective (Alg.) the theorem which expresses the law of formation of any power of a binomial.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Consisting of two terms, or parts.
  • noun algebra A polynomial with two terms.
  • noun algebra A quantity expressed as the sum or difference of two terms.
  • noun biology, taxonomy A scientific name at the rank of species, with two terms: a generic name and a specific name.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to or consisting of two terms
  • adjective having or characterized by two names, especially those of genus and species in taxonomies
  • noun (mathematics) a quantity expressed as a sum or difference of two terms; a polynomial with two terms

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From New Latin binōmius, having two names : bi– + French nom, name (from Latin nōmen; see nominal).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin binōminis (having two parts)

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Examples

  • But, over nearly three centuries, the classification system used to organize much of our biological knowledge has remained remarkably arbitrary and ancient: The so-called binomial system of genus and species that Linse and thousands of other biologists use today was first proposed by a Swedish biologist born 300 years ago Wednesday, Carolus Linnaeus.

    What's in a Name? The Future of Life 2007

  • There is in fact a probability distribution, known as the binomial distribution, of how many times the number 1 shows up.

    How Random Polling Works 2007

  • But, over nearly three centuries, the classification system used to organize much of our biological knowledge has remained remarkably arbitrary and ancient: The so-called binomial system of genus and species that Linse and thousands of other biologists use today was first proposed by a Swedish biologist born 300 years ago Wednesday, Carolus Linnaeus.

    What's in a Name? The Future of Life 2007

  • He also developed a way to name plants called binomial nomenclature (bi NOH mee ul · NOH mun klay chur).

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows cmsjpuckett 2009

  • Slide 12: Binomial Coefficients Combinations are also called binomial coefficients because they appear as coefficients in the expansion of the binomial power (x+y) n

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2008

  • The controversial "binomial" electoral system that guarantees congressional seats for the political right remains in place.

    'The Glass Has Broken' 2007

  • According to this "binomial" nomenclature each plant or animal received a generic and a specific name, as, for instance,

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 2: Assizes-Browne 1840-1916 1913

  • · Fixed gamma () and derivative functions such as binomial () returning wrong results at integer inputs being divisible by a large power of 2.

    Softpedia - Windows - All 2010

  • The presentation then went through the "binomial" break apart strategy that's supposed to be teaching kids "algebraic principles in 4th grade", the "change it and make it easier problem" using 98 x 15 as an example (ok change it to 100×15 - 2×15 = 1500 - 30 = 1470).

    Citizen Tom 2009

  • While structures such as binomial heaps and red-black trees are presented, it is assumed that the reader already knows and understands them.

    Netvouz - new bookmarks 2008

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