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quantities |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Quantity \Quan"ti*ty\, n.; pl {Quantities}. [F. quantite, L. quantitas fr quantus bow great, how much akin to quam bow, E. how who See {Who}.] 1. The attribute of being so much and not more or less the property of being measurable, or capable of increase and decrease, multiplication and division; greatness; and more concretely, that which answers the question ``How much?''; measure in regard to bulk or amount; determinate or comparative dimensions; measure; amount; bulk; extent; size. Hence in specific uses: a (Logic) The extent or extension of a general conception, that is the number of species or individuals to which it may be applied; also its content or comprehension, that is the number of its constituent qualities, attributes, or relations. b (Gram.) The measure of a syllable; that which determines the time in which it is pronounced; as the long or short quantity of a vowel or syllable. c (Mus.) The relative duration of a tone. 2. That which can be increased, diminished, or measured; especially (Math.), anything to which mathematical processes are applicable. Note: Quantity is discrete when it is applied to separate objects, as in number; continuous, when the parts are connected, either in succession, as in time, motion, etc., or in extension, as by the dimensions of space, viz., length, breadth, and thickness. 3. A determinate or estimated amount; a sum or bulk; a certain portion or part sometimes a considerable amount; a large portion, bulk, or sum; as a medicine taken in quantities, that is in large quantities. The quantity of extensive and curious information which he had picked up during many months of desultory, but not unprofitable, study. --Macaulay. {Quantity of estate} (Law), its time of continuance, or degree of interest, as in fee, for life, or for years. --Wharton (Law Dict. ) {Quantity of matter}, in a body, its mass, as determined by its weight, or by its momentum under a given velocity. {Quantity of motion} (Mech.), in a body, the relative amount of its motion, as measured by its momentum, varying as the product of mass and velocity. {Known quantities} (Math.), quantities whose values are given {Unknown quantities} (Math.), quantities whose values are sought. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Commensurable \Com*men"su*ra*ble\, a. [L. commensurabilis pref. com- + mensurable. See {Commensurate}, and cf {Commeasurable}.] Having a common measure; capable of being exactly measured by the same number, quantity, or measure. -- {Com*men"su*ra*ble*ness}, n. {Commensurable numbers} or {quantities} (Math.), those that can be exactly expressed by some common unit; thus a foot and yard are commensurable, since both can be expressed in terms of an inch, one being 12 inches, the other 36 inches. {Numbers}, or {Quantities}, {commensurable in power}, those whose squares are commensurable.
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