matrices

Multiple Entries:
  matrices    matrix  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
matrices/ˈmeɪtrɪsiːz/

plural form of matrix.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
matrix /ˈmeɪtrɪks/

▶noun (pl. matrices /-siːz/ or matrixes)

• 1 an environment or material in which something develops.

• 2 a mass of fine-grained rock in which gems, crystals, or fossils are embedded.

  ■ Biology the substance between cells or in which structures are embedded.

• 3 a mould in which something, such as a gramophone record or printing type, is cast or shaped.

• 4 Mathematics a rectangular array of quantities or expressions in rows and columns that is treated as a single entity and manipulated according to particular rules.

  ■ a grid-like array of elements, especially of data items; a lattice.

– origin ME (in the sense ‘womb’): from L., ‘breeding female’, later ‘womb’, from mater, matr- ‘mother’.