mantissa

American  

[man-tis-uh] / mænˈtɪs ə /

noun

1. Mathematics. the decimal part of a common logarithm.

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

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mantissa British  

/ mænˈtɪsə /

noun

1. the fractional part of a common logarithm representing the digits of the associated number but not its magnitude Compare characteristic

   the mantissa of 2.4771 is .4771

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mantissa Scientific  

/ măn-tĭs′ə /

1. 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.

2. Compare characteristic

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Etymology

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)

Example Sentences

A third mantissa or supplement to the Systema Vegetabilium, left in manuscript by Linnæus, and enlarged by his son, was published at Brunswick in 1781, under the care of Ehrhart.

From Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History by MacGillivray, William

In these, the PDP-3 36 bit word is divided to form a 27 bit mantissa, a, and 9 bit exponent, b.

From Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) October, 1960 by Digital Equipment Corporation