matrix English · revision 10281

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1373|origins=fro matrice|origins=la matrix}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmeɪ.tɹɪks/, /ˈmæt.ɹɪks/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English matrice, matris, [[bor|fro|matrice|t=womb, uterus]] and directly from Latin [[m|la|mātrīx]], mātrīcis,^(Barnhart 1995) a pregnant or breeding animal, in Late Latin the womb, also a source or origin,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|māter|t=mother]] (see [[mother]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The womb: 1373 in Barnhart, as matrice; the late 14th century in Etymonline; the OED's first quotation is from 1526.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The many figurative and technical senses come from the idea of that which encloses or gives origin to something.^(Etymonline) A mould is from before 1425,^(Barnhart 1995) a place or medium in which something is bred or developed from 1555,^(OED 1989) and a place of origin and growth from 1605.^(OED 1989) An embedding mass, especially the rock surrounding a fossil, gem or ore, is from 1641,^(OED 1989) and the substance between cells in biology from 1802.^(OED 1989) The mathematical sense, a rectangular array of quantities, comes from the idea of a set of places into which quantities can be set,^(Etymonline) and the logical sense, an array of possible combinations of truth values, is by 1914.^(Etymonline) The verb, in television broadcasting, is from 1951.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1373 – the womb.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1425 – a mould.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1555 – a medium of development.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1641 – an embedding mass.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1802 – intercellular substance.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1914 – a logical array.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1951 – the verb.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A setting, substance or environment in which something originates, develops or is contained.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A rectangular [[array]] of numbers or other elements.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The rock or other material in which a fossil, crystal or gem is embedded.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' The tissue at the base of a nail or tooth from which it develops.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[mould]] from which type or records are cast or pressed.^(AHD)

+ # ''(archaic)'' The [[womb]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[patrix]]

+ * [[matrix mechanics]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[matriculate]]

+ * [[alma mater]]

+ * [[mother]]

+ * [[matrice]]

+ * [[maternal]]

+ * [[matron]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}