Moduluses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A quantity used as the divisor in remainder arithmetic, or the size of a complex number's distance from zero ; a constant expressing how stiff or resistant a material is to deformation
2. The divisor that sets the remainders in congruence arithmetic, or the absolute value of a complex quantity ; a measure of how strongly a substance resists being stretched, compressed or bent
3. A base number defining equivalence classes of integers, or the length of a complex number as a vector ; a material property giving the ratio of stress to strain under load

Etymology: "Moduluses" is the plural of "modulus," a Latin word meaning "small measure" or "standard," formed from "modulus," the diminutive of "modus" ("measure, manner"). The Latin root is the same as in "mode" and "modest," which shares the sense of keeping within a measure. English borrowed "modulus" as a mathematical term, using the Latin form directly rather than a native word. Its plural is most often "moduli," the Latin plural, but "moduluses" is the anglicized plural and is also used in English. In mathematics, a modulus is the number by which an operation is taken to produce a remainder, as in clock arithmetic, or the absolute value of a complex number.