locus

American  

[loh-kuhs] / ˈloʊ kəs /

noun

plural

loci, loca

1. a place; locality.

2. a center or source, as of activities or power.

   locus of control.

3. Mathematics. the set of all points, lines, or surfaces that satisfy a given requirement.

4. Genetics. the chromosomal position of a gene as determined by its linear order relative to the other genes on that chromosome.

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locus British  

/ ˈləʊkəs /

noun

1. (in many legal phrases) a place or area, esp the place where something occurred

2. maths a set of points whose location satisfies or is determined by one or more specified conditions

   the locus of points equidistant from a given point is a circle

3. genetics the position of a particular gene on a chromosome

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locus Scientific  

/ lō′kəs /

plural

loci

1. The set or configuration of all points whose coordinates satisfy a single equation or one or more algebraic conditions.

2. The position that a given gene occupies on a chromosome.

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locus Cultural  

1. plur. loci (loh-seye, loh-keye) In geometry, the set of all points (and only those points) that satisfy certain conditions; these points form a curve or figure. For example, the locus of all points in space one foot from a given point is a sphere having a radius of one foot and having its center at the given point. The locus of all points in a plane one foot from a given point is a circle having a radius of one foot and having its center at the given point.

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Etymology

Origin of locus

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin; Old Latin stlocus “a place”

Example Sentences

Minnesota was a pioneer in using federal Medicaid dollars to pay for other forms of social assistance such as housing, which is the locus of several fraud schemes.

From The Wall Street Journal

The theater’s importance as a locus of intelligent inquiry and intellectual ferment—not momentous, alas—owes a great debt to his influence.

From The Wall Street Journal

New York, whose rhythms and swagger seemed to match that of the country’s booming economy, became the locus for much of this activity.

From The Wall Street Journal

One of the factories the companies built in Hemlock in the 1960s has become the locus of Corning’s solar and semiconductor business.

From Barron's

In Christianity, the individual believer was untethered from a wider religious community and became the locus of meaning and authority.

From The Wall Street Journal