Com·pound a. Composed of two or more elements, ingredients, parts; produced by the union of several ingredients, parts, or things; composite; as, a compound word.
Compound substances are made up of two or more simple substances. --I. Watts.
Compound addition, subtraction, multiplication, division Arith., the addition, subtraction, etc., of compound numbers.
Compound crystal Crystallog., a twin crystal, or one seeming to be made up of two or more crystals combined according to regular laws of composition.
Compound engine Mech., a form of steam engine in which the steam that has been used in a high-pressure cylinder is made to do further service in a larger low-pressure cylinder, sometimes in several larger cylinders, successively.
Compound ether. Chem. See under Ether.
Compound flower Bot., a flower head resembling a single flower, but really composed of several florets inclosed in a common calyxlike involucre, as the sunflower or dandelion.
Compound fraction. Math. See Fraction.
Compound fracture. See Fracture.
Compound householder, a householder who compounds or arranges with his landlord that his rates shall be included in his rents. [Eng.]
Compound interest. See Interest.
Compound larceny. Law See Larceny.
Compound leaf Bot., a leaf having two or more separate blades or leaflets on a common leafstalk.
Compound microscope. See Microscope.
Compound motion. See Motion.
Compound number Math., one constructed according to a varying scale of denomination; as, 3 cwt., 1 qr., 5 lb.; -- called also denominate number.
Compound pier Arch., a clustered column.
Compound quantity Alg., a quantity composed of two or more simple quantities or terms, connected by the sign + (plus) or - (minus). Thus, a + b - c, and bb - b, are compound quantities.
Compound radical. Chem. See Radical.
Compound ratio Math., the product of two or more ratios; thus ab:cd is a ratio compounded of the simple ratios a:c and b:d.
Compound rest Mech., the tool carriage of an engine lathe.
Compound screw Mech., a screw having on the same axis two or more screws with different pitch (a differential screw), or running in different directions (a right and left screw).
Compound time Mus., that in which two or more simple measures are combined in one; as, 6-8 time is the joining of two measures of 3-8 time.
Compound word, a word composed of two or more words; specifically, two or more words joined together by a hyphen.
Frac·tion n.
1. The act of breaking, or state of being broken, especially by violence. [Obs.]
Neither can the natural body of Christ be subject to any fraction or breaking up. --Foxe.
2. A portion; a fragment.
Some niggard fractions of an hour. --Tennyson.
3. Arith. or Alg. One or more aliquot parts of a unit or whole number; an expression for a definite portion of a unit or magnitude.
Common fraction, or Vulgar fraction, a fraction in which the number of equal parts into which the integer is supposed to be divided is indicated by figures or letters, called the denominator, written below a line, over which is the numerator, indicating the number of these parts included in the fraction; as ½, one half, ⅖, two fifths.
Complex fraction, a fraction having a fraction or mixed number in the numerator or denominator, or in both. --Davies & Peck.
Compound fraction, a fraction of a fraction; two or more fractions connected by of.
Continued fraction, Decimal fraction, Partial fraction, etc. See under Continued, Decimal, Partial, etc.
Improper fraction, a fraction in which the numerator is greater than the denominator.
Proper fraction, a fraction in which the numerator is less than the denominator.
compound fraction
n : a fraction with fractions in the numerator or denominator
[syn: complex fraction]