Meanings
plural quantics
- mathematicsA homogeneous polynomial in two or more variables.
When the two quantics are the first derived functions of the same quantic of any odd order, the lineo-linear invariant does not vanish, but it is not an invariant of the single quantic.
1858, Arthur Cayley, “A Fourth Memoir on Quantics”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, volume 148, published 1859, page 4211 more example
74. The discriminant of a binary quantic, or the eliminant of a system of binary quantics, is an invariant. We can see a priori that this must be the case, for if a given quantic has a square factor, it will have a square factor still when it is linearly transformed; or if a system of quantics have a common factor, they will still have a common factor when the equations are transformed.
1859, George Salmon, Modern Higher Algebra, page 52
Origin
- Latinquantus“how much”
- Englishquantic
From Latin quantus (“how much”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
quantic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quantic
“quantic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quantic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quantic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quantic.
Source: quantic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.