mantissa

[ man-tis-uh ]

/ mænˈtɪs ə /

Save This Word!

noun

Mathematics. the decimal part of a common logarithm.Compare characteristic (def. 3a).

Obsolete. an addition of little or no importance, as to a literary work.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of mantissa

1860–65; <Latin, variant of mantisa addition, makeweight, said to be from Etruscan; logarithmic mantissa so called because it is additional to the characteristic or integral part (term introduced by H. Briggs)

Words nearby mantissa

mantid, mantilla, Mantinea, mantis, mantispid, mantissa, mantis shrimp, mantle, mantlepiece, mantle plume, mantle radiotherapy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use mantissa in a sentence

Linnæus, however, says that his plant came from India (Mantissa, p. 273).
Origin of Cultivated Plants|Alphonse De Candolle
These features fairly enough suit the Mitra filosa, generally, and with reason, supposed to be the V. filaris of the 'Mantissa.'
The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society - Vol. 4|Various
The nearest approach to this species seems the variety B. of the Murex succinctus (the shell so named in the 'Mantissa').
The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society - Vol. 4|Various
Linnæus has described this plant minutely in his Mantissa Plant, so that no doubt remains of its being his maritimus.
The Botanical Magazine, Vol. V|William Curtis

Linnæus originally confounded it with a similar plant, the Draba alpina, a mistake since rectified in his Mantissa Plant.
The Botanical Magazine, Vol. V|William Curtis

British Dictionary definitions for mantissa

mantissa

/ (mænˈtɪsə) /

noun

the fractional part of a common logarithm representing the digits of the associated number but not its magnitudethe mantissa of 2.4771 is .4771 Compare characteristic (def. 2a)

Word Origin for mantissa

C17: from Latin: something added, of Etruscan origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for mantissa

mantissa

[ măn-tĭs′ə ]

The part of a logarithm to the base ten that is to the right of the decimal point. For example, if 2.749 is a logarithm, .749 is the mantissa. Compare characteristic.