matrix

matrix · noun¹

1. Latin · derived frommātrīx“dam, womb”
2. Old French · derived frommatrice“pregnant animal”
3. Middle English · inherited frommatris
4. English todaymatrix

From Middle English matris, matrice, matrix, from Old French matrice (“pregnant animal”), or from Latin mātrīx (“dam, womb”), both ultimately from māter (“mother”). Doublet of mother from Indo-European ancestor. Slang usage coined with the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix.

Matrix · proper noun²

From the 1984 novel Neuromancer and popularized in the 1999 movie The Matrix. See matrix for further etymology.

Words from the same roots