Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Plural of matrix.

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

  • noun Plural form of matrix.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • This is the crucial point: the MBH98 reconstruction has to use the S1 and V1 matrices from the short observed period SVD not the S_full and V_full of the full period SVD.

    Martin Ringo on Principal Components « Climate Audit 2006

  • M-theory appears to have the property that what we perceive as position and time, that is, the coordinates of a string or a brane, are really mathematical arrays known as matrices.

    Euclid’s Window Leonard Mlodinow 2001

  • M-theory appears to have the property that what we perceive as position and time, that is, the coordinates of a string or a brane, are really mathematical arrays known as matrices.

    Euclid’s Window Leonard Mlodinow 2001

  • M-theory appears to have the property that what we perceive as position and time, that is, the coordinates of a string or a brane, are really mathematical arrays known as matrices.

    Euclid’s Window Leonard Mlodinow 2001

  • Included in the exhibition are three monumental woodblocks (called matrices), measuring

    Art Knowledge News 2009

  • Mechanical quantities, such as position, velocity, etc. should be represented, not by ordinary numbers, but by abstract mathematical structures called "matrices" and he formulated his new theory in terms of matrix equations.

    Werner Heisenberg - Biography 1965

  • The Tariff Commission Report and minutes of evidence (AJHR H. 2, 1895) includes some very useful detail on what was imported (such as matrices of advertising matter, printing blocks and printed sheets of letterheads and invoices) and its relationship with the manufacturing capabilities of the New Zealand industry.

    Book & Print in New Zealand: A Guide to Print Culture in New Zealand Penny Griffith 1885

  • A '' 'matrix' '' (pl.: "matrices," [[Latin]] origin) is a complex ordering, in deliberate fashion, of [[numeral | numerals]]

    Conservapedia - Recent changes [en] Ed Poor 2010

  • A '' 'matrix' '' (pl.: "matrices," [[Latin]] origin) is a complex ordering, in deliberate fashion, of [[numeral | numerals]]

    Conservapedia - Recent changes [en] Ed Poor 2010

  • Given the good condition of the lead 'matrices', one must conclude that an attempt to cast type in them has never been made.

    Netvouz - new bookmarks 2009

  • But it is letterpress that stirs the aficionado, particularly in its hot-metal form, in which molten metal is poured into letter-shaped apertures called matrices to create fresh slugs of type as they are needed, rather than relying on shuffling around pieces of movable type cast in advance.

    How the world’s old printing presses are being brought back to life The Economist 2019

Comments

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  • part of the slavish pluralization phenomenon. I presume the math world got 'matrices' from 'vertices', though the two have crucially different singular endings.

    June 15, 2009

  • I'm not sure why you consider this an example of slavish pluralization.

    'matrix' is a third declension Latin noun, with the following case forms:

    *** Singular Plural

    nom. m�?trix m�?trīcēs

    gen. m�?trīcis m�?trīcum

    dat. m�?trīcī m�?trīcibus

    acc. m�?trīcem m�?trīcēs

    abl. m�?trīce m�?trīcibus

    voc. m�?trix m�?trīcēs

    Thus, 'matrices' is the correct plural form.

    Similarly, 'vertices' is the correct plural form of 'vertex', because vertex is also a third declension noun. The difference in vowels in the singular ending is immaterial, and not - as you suggest - 'crucial'.

    June 15, 2009

  • Latin matrix has a stem ending in /i:k/ and regularly forms its nominative by adding /s/. So also the mathematical term 'directrix' ~ 'directrices', as well as rare female agent nouns such as 'executrix'.

    Vertex (doublet of vortex in Latin) owes its stem vowel to the fact that in Old Latin unstressed short vowels before a single consonant became /i/, thus plural /wertike:s/; but before two consonants, /e/, thus /werteks/. So also 'apex' ~ 'apices'. This alternation didn't apply to the long /i:/ of /ma:tri:k-s/ ~ /ma:tri:k-e:s/.

    June 15, 2009

  • Forming Hendrices from Hendrix, now that would be a slavish pluralisation.

    June 15, 2009

  • Not as Slavishly Pluralized as They Look

    June 15, 2009

  • What's the correct way to pluralize "dominatrix"? My college friends and I used "dominatrices", but that may have just been wishful thinking.

    And what about "aviatrix"?

    June 15, 2009

  • That's right: the -trix in all these is the female agent ending (feminine of -tor), so they all go the same.

    I should add that the traditional English pronunciation would be /-'traɪsiːz/ with shift of stress to the long vowel, but the most common one, matrices, is now firmly established with stress the same as the singular, so that might be preferable for all the others too.

    June 15, 2009

  • So what would be the plural of asterix?

    June 16, 2009

  • Ha ha!

    June 16, 2009

  • Asteriges (based on the actual genitive of Vercingetorix): the stem ends in the Gaulish element -rig- "ruler".

    June 16, 2009

  • I'll need to know the plural of WeetBix before breakfast time. Thank you.

    June 16, 2009

  • what a fine web of webs this is. or should it be webx of webces

    June 16, 2009

  • WeetBix are an abomination.

    June 16, 2009

  • ... is an abomination, until somebody forks over the dagnabbit plural.

    June 16, 2009