indeterminate

Adjective

 * 1) Not accurately determined or determinable.
 * 2) Imprecise or vague.
 * 3)  Not definitively or precisely determined, because of the presence of infinity or zero symbols used in any of several improper combinations.
 * 4)  With no genetically defined end, and thus theoretically limitless.
 * 5)  Not topped with some form of terminal bud.
 * 6) Intersex.
 * 7)  Designed to allow the incorporation of future changes whose nature is not yet known.

Translations

 * Bulgarian:
 * Catalan: indeterminat
 * French:
 * German:
 * Hungarian: ,
 * Ido:
 * Irish: neamhchinntithe
 * Italian:
 * Sicilian: nnitirminatu
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish:

Noun

 * 1)  A symbol that resembles a variable or parameter but is used purely formally and neither signifies nor is ever assigned a particular value;  a variable.
 * 2) * 1862, H. J. Stephen Smith, Report on the Theory of Numbers—Part III, Report of the 31st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science,, page 292,
 * The form is linear, quadratic, cubic, biquadratic or quartic, quintic, &c., according to its order in respect of the indeterminates it contains; and binary, ternary, quaternary, &c., according to the number of its indeterminates. Thus $$x^2+y^2$$ is a binary quadratic form, $$x^3+y^3+z^3 -3xyz$$ is a ternary cubic form.
 * 1) * 1892, Henry B. Fine, Kronecker and His Arithmetical Theory of the Algebraic Equation, Thomas S. Fiske, Harold Jacoby (editors), Bulletin of the New York Mathematical Society, Volume 1,, page 179,
 * Such a factor is therefore an integral function of $$x$$ and the indeterminates $$u_1, u_2,\dots u_n$$ with coefficients belonging to the domain of rationality $$(R', R'', ..)$$ and may be represented by $$g(x, u_1, u_2, .. u_n)$$.
 * 1) * 2006, Alexander B. Levin, Difference Algebra, M. Hazewinkel, Handbook of Algebra, page 251,
 * Let $$T=T_\sigma$$ and let $$S$$ be the polynomial $$R$$-algebra in the set of indeterminates $$\left \{ y_{i,\tau} \right \}_{i\in I, \tau\in T}$$ with indices from the set $$I \times T$$.

Usage notes
The distinction between indeterminate and variable when discussing, say, a polynomial, is often overlooked: an indeterminate is regarded as a type of variable. In fact, the distinction relates to the context: i.e., whether one is discussing a polynomial per se (a formal expression consisting of coefficients and indeterminates) or the function that the polynomial represents when the indeterminate is considered a variable. Moreover, some authors choose to use the terms indeterminate and variable interchangeably.

Translations

 * French:
 * German: Unbestimmte