factorn.

Brit.

/ˈfaktə/, U.S.

/ˈfæktər/

Forms: late Middle English factowre, late Middle English facture, late Middle English–1800s factour, late Middle English– factor, 1500s factore, 1500s factur, 1600s ffactor; Scottish pre-1700 factour, pre-1700 factoure, pre-1700 factowr, pre-1700 facttour, pre-1700 factur, pre-1700 1700s– factor.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French factor; Latin factor.

Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman factor, factour, Middle French facteur (French facteur ) agent who buys and sells, or transacts other business, for another person or company (1326), maker, creator, performer (1357; a1475 in specific sense ‘perpetrator of a crime’), partisan, supporter (1372), agent, representative (a1374), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin factor maker, creator, author of a literary work, perpetrator, player (in a ball game), in post-classical Latin also partisan, adherent (11th cent.: see note), agent (frequently from 1380 in British sources), each of two or more whole numbers or quantities which, when multiplied together, produce a given number or expression (1645 or earlier) < fact- , past participial stem of facere to do, make (see fact n.) + -or -or suffix. Compare earlier faitour n., fautor n.Compare Catalan factor (c1400), Spanish factor (late 14th cent.), Portuguese feitor (13th cent.; in senses of branch I.), factor , (now usually) fator (1706; in senses of branch II.), Italian fattore (beginning of the 13th cent. as †fatore ; also †factore ); also Middle Dutch factor (in late sources; Dutch factor , †facteur , †factoor ), German Faktor (1451 as factor ), Swedish faktor (1533 as †factor ), Danish faktor (a1595), all earliest in sense 1a, and Middle Low German factor , facter mercantile agent. Post-classical Latin factor ‘partisan, adherent’ may represent a variant or alteration of fautor fautor n. by association with factor ; however, compare classical Latin facere cum aliquō to take a person's side. With sense 7 compare French facteur (1805 in this sense). With sense 8b compare similar use of German Faktor (1889 (in H. de Vries Intracellulare Pangenesis) or earlier; 1849 or earlier in a more general sense in genetics).

I. A person or business.

* An agent for another.

1. Business and Finance.

a. An agent who buys and sells, or transacts other business, on behalf of another person or company, usually one based in a different place, on commission; a mercantile agent; a commission agent.butter, cheese, cloth, horse, malt, timber, wool factor, etc.: see the first element. See also cornfactor n.In later use a factor is often distinguished from an ordinary agent or broker in having actual possession of the goods he or she deals in, and trading in his or her own name.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > trader > agent or broker > [noun]

broker1377

factor1432

entermeter1440

broggerc1460

chapman1570

institor1657

mackeler1682

agent1707

commission man1733

agenting1751

supercargo1782

commission agent1798

commission merchant1798

curbstone broker1848

managing agent1969

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > non-manual worker > businessman > [noun] > business agent

broker1377

officerc1390

factor1432

worker1560

commission man1733

gomashta1747

1432 Petition (P.R.O.) 104.5183 (MED) The factours and the attournes of the seide suppliantz.

c1503 ( Indenture in R. Arnold Chron. f. xl/1 Shall ressayue the said v C frankis of y^e said I. de castro and alonso or of any of them or of theyr factors.

1523 Act 14 & 15 Hen. VIII c. 1 No person..shall sell..to any marchaunt..or to any of his..factours..any maner of brode white wollen clothes.

c1592 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta i. i Bid my factor bring his loading in.

1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders ii. xxvii. 297 The merchant and factor for these Aromaticke drugs, spices and confects, is my Lord Saint Paul.

1683 London Gaz. No. 1852/8 A Factor..for Norwich Hose or Stockings.

1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. x. 113 Send Factors all over India to carry on trade.

1796 A. Dirom Inq. into Corn Laws & Corn Trade Great Brit. ii. 69 Honest and substantial persons.., being neither merchants nor factors for the importing of corn.

1850 W. Irving Mahomet & his Successors I. v. 49 Mahomet..was employed by different persons as..factor in caravan journeys to Syria.

1892 W. S. Walsh Handy-bk. Lit. Curiosities 447 The story of a Virginia planter..who wrote to his factor in England to send him two virtuous young women.

1954 G. Ohlin tr. E. F. Heckscher Econ. Hist. Sweden vi. 246 The merchants could now hand over the task of transportation.., while previously they or their factors had staked lives and fortunes on the delivery of goods.

2010 D. L. Brady Essent. Internat. Marketing xi. 193 A foreign factor is a type of agent that sells consigned or delivered merchandise for a commission known as factorage.

b. An East India Company employee managing a trading post. Now historical.Early examples are probably contextual uses of sense 1a.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > trader > merchant > [noun] > resident abroad > employees of East India Company

factor1600

servant1621

writer1675

scavenger1702

civilian1761

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > civil service > [noun] > civil servant > types of in India

factor1600

koi-hai1816

statutory1888

political1898

1600 Minutes Court Adventurers 23 Oct. in Cal. State Papers: E. Indies (1862) 109 Thos. Wasse to be employed as factor.

1600 Minutes Court Adventurers 18 Nov. in Cal. State Papers: E. Indies (1862) 111 Three principal factors to have each 100l. for equipment..four of the second sort to be allowed 50l...four of the third sort 50l...and four of the fourth and last sort 20l. each.

1611 E. India Co. Comm. 4 Apr. in A. Farrington Eng. Factory in Japan (1991) II. 980 Such of the factors as shall remaine in the shipps..shall be ymployed to..pay the money & keepe due accompte thereof.

1654 Citie Matrons 4 I took up a Factor of the East Indies, that had cozened the Company of much Gold, Jewells, and Druggs, which I made him cast away freely in the Pleasures of this City.

1675 Let. 12 July in J. Bruce Ann. East-India Co. (1810) II. 375 We do order, that..when the Writers have served their times, they be stiled Factors.

1766 R. Stevens Compl. Guide East-India Trade (title page) Addressed to all commanders, officers, factors, &c. in the Honourable East-India Company's Service.

1781 Ld. Cornwallis Corr. (1859) I. 378 We..have a council and senior and junior merchants, factors and writers, to load one ship in the year.

1800 Duke of Wellington in Marquess Wellesley Select. Despatches (1877) 719 Writers or factors filling the stations of registers.

1897 R. W. Frazer Brit. India xvi. 369 These Covenanted Civilians are the successors of the former writers or factors appointed and sent out by the East India Company.

1993 S. C. Ghosh in J. A. Mangan Imperial Curriculum xi. 175 Below the Governor's Council came the senior and junior merchants, the factors and the writers.

c. British. In Birmingham and Sheffield: a trader commissioning work or buying goods from an independent maker of hardware, with the finished article usually bearing the factor's trademark rather than that of the maker. Cf. little master n. 3. Now historical.

ΚΠ

1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 13 The operatives pressed between reduced prices and want of work, betook themselves to the factors. The factor..advanced to the workman a small sum to purchase the requisite tools.

1914 Econ. Jrnl. 24 274 By the side of the large factory-owner..we find the ‘little master’..making goods on his own account and hawking them at markets or selling them to factors.

1987 N. Thrift in N. Thrift & P. Williams Class & Space i. ii. 35 ‘Little masters’, artisans who had begun to purchase their own raw materials and employed a few apprentices, and ‘factors’, middlemen who took on work and then contracted it out again.

d. A person or agency that takes over and collects debts owed to other (esp. finance) companies.

ΚΠ

1925 Shoyer v. Wright-Ginsberg Co. in N.Y. State Reporter 240 231 The defendant insists that although the definition adopted by us may have been the original and ordinary meaning of the word ‘factor’, such definition has yielded to later commercial and trade usages... The meaning which defendant says has been thus given to the word is that of a person who merely advances money on goods consigned to him or on accounts receivable transferred to him and who thus becomes simply a commercial banker making loans on certain securities.

1936 J. C. Baker & D. W. Malott Introd. Corporate Finance viii. iii. 331 The representative of a factor..suggested that Mr. Ernst contract with his concern for the financing of the Parisian Silk Company's working capital requirements.

1965 L. K. Brandt Business Finance xi. 221 Factors are even more commercial in their activities than the finance companies discussed above.

1991 Daily Tel. 19 Feb. 30/3 Another customer asked the factors to give him three months' grace.

a. gen. A person who acts for another; an agent, deputy, or representative. Now chiefly historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > one who acts for another

procuratorc1300

proctor1301

attorney1347

provisora1393

assignee1419

procuracya1425

solicitorc1425

factor1445

soliciter1464

doer1465

umbothman1482

agent1523

assign1526

procurera1533

practitioner1560

proxy1585

pragmatic1593

procureur1604

pragmatitioner1607

foreign agent1646

institor1657

agent general1659

proxy-man1696

interestera1701

maat1824

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [noun] > subsidiary or contributory help > a subsidiary help

factor1445

adjutory1508

underhelp1579

subsidiary1603

under-powera1807

contingent1817

tributary1859

contribuenta1866

1445 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 14th Rep.: App. Pt. III: MSS Duke of Roxburghe (1894) 12 in Parl. Papers (C. 7570) XLVI. 471 Twenty schillingis..to be pait to me be the saide Androu Kere or his facturis or subtenandis.

1477 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Brechinensis (1856) I. 201 The saide reuerende fathir, his factouris and ministeris.

1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. avij/2 The kyng..sente anone Aurelyen his factour.

1526 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 224 Their servants, factors, or assignes.

1551 King Edward VI Let. in N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (1847) p. xxx (note) Lycense to..Nicholas Udall and to his factors and assignes to prynt..the worke of Peter Marter.

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 2146/1 They..authorised..the Vicechauncelor, to be the common factor for the vniuersity.

1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iv. xv. 397 Parker was a kind of factor for English Seminaries and Nunnes beyond sea.

1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. v. i. 321 Those judges were a sort of itinerant factors, sent round the country for the purpose of levying certain branches of the king's revenue.

1856 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire IV. xxxiii. 61 The jealousy of the emperor was peculiarly sensitive in regard to every act and word of his factor at Alexandria.

1907 F. A. Ober Ferdinand Magellan viii. 108 Dom Manoel had not played his last card, even when his ambassador, his factor, and their despicable tools, the hired assassins, gave up the game in despair.

1983 J. A. Michener Poland vi. 227 Why not let me be your factor for the Ukraine?

2011 N. Cliff Holy War iii. xix. 396 One captain of Sofala murdered one Muslim merchant to whom he was deeply in debt,..and tried to stab to death the king's factor when he complained.

†b. A partisan, an adherent, a supporter. Obsolete.In later quots. with admixture of sense 5 or sense 2a (cf. sense 4).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > [noun] > supporter or encourager

friendOE

procurera1325

fautorc1330

voweec1380

corner-stonec1384

abettor1387

vocatec1390

procurator1395

maintainer?a1400

proctora1413

supporter1426

comforter1483

factorc1503

allower1528

advancer1536

affirmer?1541

agreer1548

encourager1562

fortifierc1565

favourer1567

aim-crier1597

suffragator1606

seconder1623

countenancera1625

affectionate1628

adstipulator1646

flesher1646

fauterera1662

advocate1735

sympathizer1816

sympathista1834

advocator1837

ite1852

rooter1889

spear-carrier1960

c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxvij^/2 Alle the whiche done..byleuen in whichcrafte and sorsery..and their facturs.

a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) 165 Martyn Leuter & other of hys factours, in certayne thynges dyd take synistrall opinions.

1642 T. Fuller Holy State v. xi. 400 Modern Factours for the Independent congregations.

1685 E. Stillingfleet Origines Britannicæ iv. 168 Valens and Ursacius, two very busie Factours in the Arian Cause.

1715 R. Bentley Serm. Popery 26 What is He but a vile Factour to Libertinism and Sacrilege?

a. Chiefly Scottish. A manager of a landed estate for the owner; a land steward; an agent for a landlord.Especially in Glasgow, a ‘factor’ may act for a tenants' association.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property

town-reeveeOE

reeveeOE

gravec1175

procuratorc1300

dispender1340

provost1340

bailiec1375

officerc1375

dispenserc1380

proctora1382

dispensator1382

farmerc1384

approverc1386

husbanda1387

stewardc1405

chamberlain1423

procurer1477

factor1520

bailiff1528

land-steward1535

improver1536

grieve1537

amtman1582

administrator1596

stead-man1609

dapifer1636

vogt1694

house jobber1709

commissioner1760

foreman1774

house agent1793

ground-officer1815

land-agent1846

wic-reeve1853

steadward1876

house farmer1882

house-knacker1884

land-sergeant1894

1520 in R. Renwick Extracts Rec. Stirling (1887) I. 6 Sir Johen Patonsoun..hais maid Johen Make factour and inbringar of all anuales pertenyn to him.

1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. ii. viii. f. 60^v If any idle factore or baylye do deuoure his masters substance.

1575 in T. M'Crie Life A. Melville (1819) I. 150 (note) His hienes chalmerlan and factor to the said priorissie of the Senis.

1640 in J. Nicholson Minute Bk. War Comm. Covenanters Kirkcudbright 24 July (1855) 17 That he retein in his own hand his factor's fie.

1683 in Pennsylvania Arch. (1852) I. 54 W^m Pickering of y^r Province factor..to one Growden.

1722 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 672 Call for as many copies as you want..from Mr. M^cEwen's factor.

1789 J. Moore Zeluco II. lxxx. 183 In a short time he would be little more than a factor on his own estate.

1804 J. Bristed Anthroplanomenus I. 230 Lord Kinnaird's factor, or bailiff-steward.

1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes v. 305 The Steward, Factor as the Scotch call him, used to send letters and threatenings.

1885 Act 48 Vict. c. 16 §11 It shall not be lawful for any assessor..to be employed as a factor for heritable property or land agent.

1914 F. Niven Justice of Peace iii. iv The landlord's agent (or factor, as he is usually called in Glasgow).

1938 L. MacNeice I crossed Minch ii. viii. 111 A large lady with grey hair whose father was a factor on a large Highland estate.

2000 Herald (Glasgow) 13 Mar. 15 First viewer buzzes. Then second, third, fourth, fifth..and sixth. Go through prepared speech several times..then forget the answer to the very first question posed: how much are your factor's bills?

b. Scots Law. An agent or trustee appointed to administer the estate of another; = judicial factor n. at judicial adj. and n. Compounds. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property > manager of forfeited property

factor1690

1690 Acts Sederunt Scotl. (1740) I. 166 The Factor shall be lyable for Annualrent of what Rents he shall recover.

1726 Acts Sederunt Scotl. (1790) at Factors That Factors upon sequestrated estates shall..make up a rental of the estate.

1753 Trial J. Stewart 153 The sole offence taken at Glenure, was his acting in the quality of factor on the forfeited estate of Ardshiel.

1807 W. M. Morison Decisions Court of Session XXXIII. App. at Sequestration The Lord Ordinary sequestrated the subjects in question, and appointed a factor to uplift the rents.

2011 S. Stroh Uneasy Subj. iv. 127 Mungo Campbell being the factor for the forfeited estates of the area.

c. U.S. Law. In Vermont and Connecticut: a third party who is served notice by a court to surrender money in settlement of a debt or claim; = garnishee n.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > legal seizure or recovery of property > [noun] > seizing lands or goods > attachment of person or property for debt > attachment of money via garnishee > garnishee

garnishee1627

factor1858

1858 C. D. Drake Treat. Law of Suits by Attachm. (ed. 2) xviii. 350 §451 In Vermont and Connecticut, he [sc. the garnishee] is sometimes called a factor.

1922 H. B. Hawes et al. Corpus Juris XXVIII. 16/1 In those jurisdictions where garnishment is called ‘trustee process’ or ‘factorizing process’, the garnishee is called ‘trustee’ or ‘factor’ respectively.

1995 B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage (ed. 2) 347/1 In some American states, meanwhile, factor may refer to a garnishee.

4. figurative and in figurative contexts of preceding senses.

ΚΠ

1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie Pref. 32 All such partes of the worde of God..no lesse vnsoundly taught and interpreted by all authorized English Pastors, then by Antichristes factors themselues.

1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 81 All other vices are but Factors to Couetousnesse.

1673 tr. E. de Refuge Art of Complaisance 70 Reason and honesty are too oft made factours to their avarice.

a1704 T. Brown Satire upon Quack in Wks. (1720) I. 70 Death's busy Factor, Son of Desolation.

?1750 in A. Pennecuik Compl. Coll. Poems i. 8 This Ignorance, the Source of all our Evil, Sae her a faithful Factor to the Devil.

1765 W. Stevenson Orig. Poems II. 90 The rich man..Is but a factor for the skies; Accountable, when fates unfold, Even for his smallest mite of gold.

1897 F. B. Coffin Poems 61 All of life's temptations Surround my head, and I must be A factor to the nation.

1933 ‘H. MacDiarmid’ in Free Man 7 Oct. 6/2 Brooding again on Edinburgh..Mere factor to London now.

1990 S. Raven ‘Is there anybody there?’ said Traveller 144 The vile Teuton that was banker turned up a nine to my nought, and the devil's factor lifted my pretty counters.

** A person who does, makes, or creates something (without implication of agency for another).

5. A person or (less commonly) thing that makes or does something; a doer, maker, creator, performer, perpetrator; an author. Now rare.ode-factor: see ode n. Compounds 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > one who acts or does

wright971

doer1382

workerc1384

actorc1425

performerc1443

factor1461

committer1509

accomplisher1538

setter1548

enurer1556

performancer1621

commissioner1651

facienta1670

performant1809

enactor1837

transactor1863

1461–2 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1461 §18. m. 11 The same Henry, actour, factour and provoker of the seid commocion.

1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) ii. f. Ciiii Disguysed devyls, Sworne foes of vertue, factours of all evylls.

1598 J. Dickenson Greene in Conceipt 16 Where vertue hath one affecter, vice hath many factors.

a1632 T. Middleton & J. Webster Any Thing for Quiet Life (1662) i I have got a Dutch Painter to draw Patterns, which Ile have sent to your Factors..to have pieces made for mine own wearing of a new invention.

a1635 R. Corbet Poems (1647) 61 Their Playes had sundry grave wise factors, A perfect Diocess of Actors.

1664 A. Brome Songs & Other Poems (ed. 2) ii. 180 The proemium is so small, To be called Poet, and wear bayes, And Factor turn of Songs and Playes, This it no wit at all.

1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iii. 141 An avow'd Factor and Procurer of that odious Judgement.

1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters xiii. 321 To fasten upon the factor of his monster-crime its responsibility.

1906 G. Pyburn Makers of Wealth 12 Land, Capital and Labor, according to John Stuart Mills [sic], are the three factors of wealth... Labor is in fact the sole factor or maker of wealth.

II. An element or constituent, esp. one which contributes to or influences a process or result.

a. Mathematics. Each of two or more whole numbers or quantities which, when multiplied together, produce a given number or expression. Also in extended use.common, highest common, primary, prime factor: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > multiplier or multiplicand

multipliantc1450

multiplicator1543

multiplier1543

multiplicand1594

factor1658

multiplied1660

coefficient1708

geniture1718

multiplicative1727

factor1779

weight1825

conversion factor1918

scale factor1948

co-factor-

1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour xxxviii. 112 Because there are four figures in the Fractions of the two Factours; therfore there are also four in the product.

1673 J. Kersey Elem. Algebra I. i. iv. 15 The Quantities given to be multiplyed one by the other are called Factors.

1730 Philos. Trans. 1729–30 (Royal Soc.) 36 85 The Product of the Factors that involve impossible Roots in an Equation can never have its Signs changed by substituting any real Quantity whatsoever in place of x.

1780 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 70 408 For that zy may be positive, the signs of the two factors z and y must be alike.

1825 Trans. Royal Irish Acad. 14 Science 80 This might be integrated by resolving it into its factors, but more elegantly by ascending to a differential equation of an higher order.

1872 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (ed. 2) II. vii. i. 307 Error in either factor must involve error in the product.

1906 W. H. Young & G. C. Young Theory of Sets of Points iv. 37 If the sets G₁, G₂,..are all equivalent, and γ be their number,..the equation g = γg₁ is substituted for the preceding equation; g is then called the product of the factors γ and g₁.

1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra ii. 44 Every element x of a finite group G generates a cyclic subgroup whose order is a factor of the order of G.

2011 P. M. Higgins Numbers: Very Short Introd. i. 9 11 and 13..are two consecutive odd numbers that are both prime, separated by the number 12, which in contrast has many factors for its size.

b. A number by which a quantity is or should be multiplied; a multiplier; a ratio. by a factor of: by an amount that is numerically larger or smaller by the specified multiple.conversion, discount, integrating, proportionality, scale factor, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > multiplier or multiplicand

multipliantc1450

multiplicator1543

multiplier1543

multiplicand1594

factor1658

multiplied1660

coefficient1708

geniture1718

multiplicative1727

factor1779

weight1825

conversion factor1918

scale factor1948

co-factor-

1779 B. Talbot New Art of Land Measuring vi. 127 Multiply the sides A B and B C together, and that product by the factor, for the included angle at B, gives the area of the triangle.

1837 J. Challis Astron. Observ. Observatory of Cambr. XI. p. xxxvi The value employed is 16^s,6, multiplied by a factor taken from Caturegli's Ephemeris.

1911 Proc. 31st Ann. Meeting Soc. Promotion Agric. Sci. 108 To get the factor for carbohydrate valuation multiply the per cent. of fat by 2.25, add this product to the amount of crude fibre.

1916 B. Lasker Brit. Syst. Labor Exchanges 253 Reduced by a factor of four-sevenths when applied to schedule-rated plants.

1938 Rev. Sci. Instruments 9 221/1 No variations in the scaling factor were found for pulses varying in amplitude by a factor of six.

1950 Materials Surv.: Lumber, Railroad Ties (U.S. Dept.Agric., Forest Service) 153 The average factor for converting cross ties to board foot measure is about 35 board feet per tie.

1990 Proc. Royal Microsc. Soc. 25 304/1 An image-splitting eyepiece for measuring particle diameters, which had a setting capability that exceeded the Airy resolution limit by a factor of ten.

2002 Which? Tax Saving Guide 51/2 He multiplies the purchase price by the indexation factor for May 1983 (1.921) to get an indexed cost of £57,630.

c. factor of merit n. (originally) a measure of the sensitivity of a reflecting galvanometer (now rare); (in later use) a numerical expression taken as representing the performance or efficiency of a given device, material, or procedure; = figure of merit at figure n. 20c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun] > measurement of galvanic currents > apparatus for > measure of sensitivity

factor of merit1888

1888 Proc. Physical Soc. 10 434 Mr. Swinburne thought that the factor of merit of a galvanometer should be determined differently, according as it was to be used for the measurement of current, or quantity, or for null methods merely.

1890 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 5th Ser. 30 84 An important..question to decide is whether the factor of merit of a galvanometer should be stated for a constant periodic time of oscillation..or for a constant controlling-field.

1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 375/1 The accepted period being 10 seconds, it follows that for any galvanometer the Factor of Merit is 100 D/T² (R_G)^1/2 or 100 D/T²(R_G)^2/5, T being the period in seconds, R_G the resistance of the galvanometer, and D the deflection in millimetres at 1 metre.

1980 A. Hadni in K. J. Button Infrared & Millimeter Waves V3 iii. 157 Different factors of merit have been proposed for the pyroelectrics used in pyroelectric vidicons.

2002 M. A. T. Sanduleanu & E. A. J. M. van Tuijl Power Trade-offs & Low Power in Analog CMOS ICs iv. 76 For comparison with other low-voltage transconductors we need a factor of merit in which dynamic range, THD power and tuning are taken into account.

d. Photography. In full filter factor. A numerical measure of the darkness or density of an optical filter, equal to the ratio of the exposure required with it in place to that required when it is not in place.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > technical factors > [noun] > filter factor or scale of exposure

exposure1839

time exposure1870

inertiac1886

latitude1889

factor1900

filter factor1904

inertia point1907

intermittency effect1907

Scheiner number1911

scale1920

1900 Photo-miniature Mar. 494 After the negatives are dry make a set of proofs. The one which shows a properly exposed foreground indicates the proper factor for the screen, that is, the number by which the normal exposure is to be multiplied in order to get its equivalent exposure with the screen in place.

1931 Movie Makers Feb. 67/2 (advt.) If you are using a filter, move the filter factor ring and the new lens stop is read instantly.

1991 Photo Answers July 66/1 A filter that has a x2 filter factor needs twice as much exposure—one stop.

2002 G. Rand & D. Litschel Black & White Photogr. ix. 184/2 If the photographer is using a TTL meter system, the filter factor is taken care of because the light reading is made through the filter.

a. An element which enters into the composition of something; a circumstance, fact, or influence which contributes to a result.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [noun] > that which

main thing1623

agent1624

influence1736

factor1816

subfactor1868

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > constituent part or component

limbc1000

membera1382

elementc1386

parcelc1395

ingredientc1460

partc1530

ingredience1577

principle1594

simple1603

composer1610

partiment1641

component1644

constitutive1647

composite1657

integral1659

ingredient1674

aggregant1749

constituent1757

congredient1767

factor1816

integrant1825

inclusion1845

1816 S. T. Coleridge Statesman's Man. App. p. vi The reason,..is the science of the universal, having the ideas of oneness and allness as its two elements or primary factors.

1845 R. C. Trench Fitness Holy Script. i. 17 This Book..is so essential a factor in the spiritual life of men.

1878 W. E. Gladstone Homer 77 The first factor in the making of a nation is its religion.

1901 Contemp. Rev. Mar. 361 For years the supply of teachers exceeded the demand; now it is the other way.., and that is one of the factors in the training college problem.

1940 Bot. Gaz. 101 684 The rate of development of flowers, fruits, and the like is influenced by environmental factors.

1979 W. F. Murphy Vicar of Christ 204 Being an athlete or the child of an alumnus can be a critical factor for admission.

2002 P. Augar & J. Palmer Rise Player Manager xiii. 291 A committed and motivated workforce is a key factor in providing the competitive edge.

b. With modifying word: the influence or significance of something specified, in the context of a larger situation; the specified element as a (usually important) component affecting the outcome, nature, or perception of something. Chiefly with the.buggeration, fear, feel-good, nuisance, risk, sleaze, X, yuck factor, etc.: see the first element. See also chill factor n. at chill- comb. form Additions, wind-chill factor n. at wind n.¹ Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > subsidiary or contributory cause

by-grounda1603

occasion1605

by-cause1631

generant1635

concurrency1636

under-cause1645

causa causata1659

concurrent1667

occasional cause1728

condition1817

factor1851

1851 D. H. Riddle Ground of Confidence in Foreign Missions 15 The excesses which seem almost necessarily incident to the human factor in the elements of progress.

1892 Alienist & Neurologist 13 142 In citation of cases to illustrate the unlikeness of children to parents as degeneration stigmata, Lombroso completely ignores this race factor.

1920 E. India Comm. Indian Exchange & Currency II. 204/2 in Parl. Papers (Cmd. 528) XIV. 183 Assume that the Government of India were to say that they would not pay more than a dollar an ounce?—I think, eliminating this uncertain China factor, the price would probably come back to your level.

1956 Caribbean Q. 4 226 Closely related to the excitement factor..is the bearing which Carnival has on religious behaviour.

1982 Washington Post 7 May a26/4 One of the Social Democrats' four co-leaders, William Rodgers, said, ‘The Falklands factor is a major one’ in the disappointing showing of his party.

2009 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 22 Mar. (Opinion section) 6/1 The first task is for us Scots to overcome the cringe factor about speaking in our own accent and with our own vocabulary.

a. Medicine. Any of various protease enzymes and other substances present in blood which are involved in the process of coagulation, many of which have been assigned identifying (usually Roman) numbers.See also factor VIII n. at Compounds 2.Some of the numbered factors are better known by other names (e.g. factor I, fibrinogen; factor II, prothrombin), and some numbers are not assigned.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > components of blood > [noun] > substances involved in coagulation

factor1864

coagulin1903

1864 Nat. Hist. Rev. Apr. 162 In striving to determine and isolate the blood-factor, Schmidt found that while serum apparently perfectly free from corpuscles had still the coagulating power, yet the presence of red corpuscles vastly increased its energy.

1911 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. 29 209 Circulating blood contains normally all the necessary fibrin factors, namely, fibrinogen, prothrombin, and calcium.

1947 P. A. Owren in Acta Med. Scand. Suppl. cxciv. 76 Besides prothrombin, thrombokinase, calcium and fibrinogen a fifth factor is needed in order to ensure a normal course of the coagulation process. The factor which is included in the first stage of the coagulation process will be termed Factor V.

1974 R. Passmore & J. S. Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xxi. 56/1 Factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX and X are all manufactured by the liver in the presence of adequate vitamin K₁.

1997 K. J. Clemetson in J. Montreuil et al. Glycoproteins II ix. 191 Von Willebrand factor (vWf) plays an essential role in haemostasis by acting as the carrier molecule for factor VIII.

2008 Independent 29 Jan. (Extra section) 10/3 The bewildered doctors in intensive care struggled for days to staunch the bleeding... Finally, they decided to try an expensive clotting agent called Factor VII.

b. Genetics. Originally: an agent that is transmitted from parent to offspring and influences or determines a hereditary character; a gene. Now: esp. an agent of transmission of inherited characters that does not have the precise attributes usually implied by the word ‘gene’ (e.g. that is found outside the nuclear chromosomes).The broad sense ‘gene’ persists esp. in discussions of the history of genetics and in elementary explanations of its principles.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > factor

determinant1893

factor1901

determiner1909

sex factor1909

rate factor1927

plasmon1932

plasmagene1939

resistance transfer factor1960

rho1969

1901 K. Pearson in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 197 287 Differentiation, whether due to function, position on the individual, season of production, &c., is usually connected with one or two well-marked dominating factors.

1907 R. C. Punnett Mendelism (ed. 2) 23 Every zygotic cell, being formed by the fusion of two gametes, is a double structure, and contains two factors belonging to any given pair of characters.

1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley Animal Biol. ii. 62 These units are called factors of heredity, or sometimes still more shortly the genes.

1949 C. D. Darlington & K. Mather Elements of Genetics ii. 40 We must then say that the two alternative determinants or factors of each kind in a zygote may be alike or different.

1961 U. Mittwoch tr. E. Hadorn Developmental Genetics i. 1 Not all hereditary factors which obey Mendelian laws should be described as genes, and this applies particularly to lethal factors. A large number of these are due to a loss of more or less extensive pieces of chromosome.

1964 D. Wilkie Cytoplasm in Heredity i. 1 Non-mendelian patterns of inheritance are often interpreted as demonstrating genetic control by cytoplasmic factors.

2002 H. Bertrand & D. Baidyaroy in H. D. Osiewacz Molecular Biol. Fungal Devel. xvii. 424 Other cytoplasmically transmitted factors, namely mutant forms of mitochondrial DNA..and certain mitochondrial plasmids, also can dramatically reduce the pathological aggressiveness of the chestnut blight fungus.

c. Biology. Any of various vitamins, hormones, or other substances which promote or stimulate cell growth, differentiation, or some other cellular or physiological process.accessory, extrinsic, growth, releasing, rhesus, sex, transfer factor: see the first element.

ΚΠ

1912 F. G. Hopkins in Jrnl. Physiol. 44 425 (title) Feeding Experiments Illustrating the Importance of Accessory Factors in Normal Dietaries.

1922 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Apr. 279/1 Chickens prove particularly susceptible to an insufficiency of the water-soluble or B factor.

1946 Vitamins & Hormones 4 2 Certain of these factors have been isolated as crystalline compounds, some have been obtained as concentrates, while still others are known only in crude natural vitamin carriers.

1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 7 Oct. 940/2 The isolation and partial characterization of an ‘aggregation factor’ which causes the clumping of separated sponge cells is also described.

1986 R. F. Levine in D. Phillips & M. A. Shuman Biochem. Platelets xi. 418 Clonal proliferation of megakaryocytes in vitro requires the presence of a growth-stimulating factor.

2010 T. W. Sadler Langman's Med. Embryol. (ed. 11) x. 151/2 Serum response factor (SRF) is a transcription factor responsible for smooth muscle cell differentiation.

9. With following numeral: a sunscreen product of the sun protection factor specified.

ΚΠ

1982 Jrnl. Amer. Acad. Dermatol. 7 690/1 The application of a factor 15 sunscreen prior to high-dose UVA exposure.

1993 ‘A. McNab’ Bravo Two Zero i. 9 We ran around organizing kit..and screaming into town to buy ourselves new pairs of desert wellies and plenty of Factor 20 for the nose.

2005 Time Out 7 Dec. 172/1 There are some amusing moments, not least a pig being smeared in Factor 30 on Delvoye's sunny art farm in China.

Compounds

C1. General attributive and appositive (in sense 1), as factor merchant, etc.

ΚΠ

1710 Ld. Shaftesbury Soliloquy 145 Certain Merchant-Adventurers in the Letter-Trade, who in Correspondence with their Factor-Bookseller, are enter'd into a notable Commerce with the World.

1778 West India Merchant xx. 155 The profits we received by so many of the rich planters and their factor merchants.

1858 H. Vaughan Addr. River Usk Pref. 18 The factour~wind from far shall bring The odours of the scattered spring.

1880 R. Browning Clive in Dramatic Idyls 91 This fell in my factor-days.

1907 Hearings before Comm. on Interoceanic Canals (U.S. Senate, 59th Congr., 2nd Sess. I. 535 When Secretary Taft's statement was made about our being in the factor business.

1997 D. H. Whittaker Small Firms in Japanese Econ. ii. 25 Small-scale production in the Meiji period was frequently organised by tonya factor-merchants.

2001 N. Budgell Newfoundland Son viii. 72 My objective was to walk to Rigolet, a Hudson Bay Post at the mouth of the Hamilton inlet,..where my uncle George Budgell was Factor Manager.

C2.

factor analysis n. an analysis of contributory factors; (Statistics) a mathematical technique for calculating the relative importance of each of a set of factors that together are assumed to influence some observed values or properties; a mathematical procedure for accounting for relationships between a number of variates in terms of a smaller number of factors.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > factor analysis

factorial analysis1845

factor analysis1928

varimax1956

the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > test of mental ability > factor analysis > [noun]

factor analysis1928

1928 Standards Yearbk. (National Bureau Statistics) 4 The factor analysis essential to standardization of process stimulates the development of measured controls.

1931 L. L. Thurstone in Psychol. Rev. 38 406 It is the purpose of this paper to describe a more generally applicable method of factor analysis which has no restrictions as regards group factors and which does not restrict the number of general factors that are operative in producing the correlations.

1969 Computers & Humanities 3 145 While there are several varieties of factor analysis, each of which is designed to handle a special type of problem, they all involve rather elaborate mathematical operations.

2007 Guardian 2 Jan. (Educ. section) 9/1 The second paradox is that intelligence has been measured on the factor analysis of 10 IQ sub-tests, producing a general measure of intelligence known as g.

factor-analyse v. transitive to analyse (contributory factors); to perform a factor analysis on.

ΚΠ

1939 L. W. Ferguson in Jrnl. Psychol. 8 219 The matrix secured..when factor analyzed by the centroid method yields three psychologically meaningful, but only two statistically significant factors.

1955 Abstr. Diss. for Degrees (Univ. Maryland) 15 May 87 A recent proposal has been made to convert psychophysical data..to estimates of correlation and to factor analyze the matrix of estimates of correlation.

1992 Behavioural Pharmacol. 3 21/2 The adjectives are factor analyzed into eight subscales labeled Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Vigor, Fatigue, Confusion, Friendliness, and Elation.

2006 R. Shepherd & M. Raats Psychol. Food Choice v. 81 Although pickiness and neophobia items loaded on the same factor, when this factor was itself factor-analysed, the finickiness and neophobia items separated.

factor cost n. Economics the aggregate cost of production.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses > of production or manufacturing

cost of production1815

unit cost1902

factor cost1936

variable cost1953

1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment iii. 24 The aggregate income (i.e. factor cost plus profit) resulting from a given amount of employment.

1941 Economist 12 Apr. 489/2 There are two methods of valuation: the first at factor cost (that is, at what it costs to produce this output), the second at market prices.

1956 F. Lafitte in A. Pryce-Jones New Outl. Mod. Knowl. 579 Factor-cost measurement gives a true indication of the amount of real economic resources appropriated by State ‘consumption’ services.

1971 E. Afr. Jrnl. Mar. 17/1 In 1963, agriculture, forestry and fishing contributed 8·2% of gross domestic product at factor cost.

2012 B. Schmitt in C. Gnos & S. Rossi Mod. Monetary Macroeconomics ii. iii. 89 Apart from profits, national income is equal to factor cost. When profits are added on, it means that the value of national output exceeds its factor cost.

factor VIII n. Medicine (also factor eight) a glycoprotein involved in blood clotting whose congenital deficiency causes haemophilia A (the most common form of haemophilia).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > components of blood > [noun] > substances involved in coagulation > specific

factor VIII1954

1954 F. Koller in Blood 9 286 The following designations have been proposed: Factor disappearing during coagulation: Antihemophilic globulin of Cohn et al. Factor VIII. Deficiency: hemophilia A.

1981 Economist 13 June 85/2 Several products..are likely to be made by genetic engineering including human albumin, factor eight, [etc.].

1985 New Statesman 27 Sept. 14/3 By the middle of 1982..AIDS had appeared among haemophiliacs using the blood-derived clotting agent, Factor VIII.

2007 J. H. Hulse Sustainable Devel. at Risk xiii. 302 Factor VIII to control blood clotting can be synthesised in the milk of GM cattle.

factor group n. [after German †Factorgruppe (O. Hölder 1889, in Mathematische Annalen 34 28; now Faktorgruppe)] Mathematics a group G/N, the elements of which are the cosets in a given group G of a normal subgroup N of G; also called quotient group.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > in abstract algebra > groups

syntheme1844

group1854

substitution group1861

quaternion group1881

subgroup1881

Abelian group1892

permutation group1893

quotient group1893

factor group1895

order1897

symmetric group1897

point group1903

Sylow subgroup1905

module1927

Lie group1939

symmetry group1956

Weyl group1961

stabilizer1965

1895 Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 1 234 The proof, as given by Hölder, that the factor-groups are constant for all the series of composition of a group, easily follows by induction.

1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra ii. 49 If G is a finite group of order m and H is a normal subgroup of order n, then..the factor group G/H is a finite group of order m/n.

2008 M. S. Dresselhaus et al. Group Theory i. 11 The order of the factor group is the index of the self-conjugate subgroup.

factor law n. Mathematics = factor theorem n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > proposition > theorem > specific theorem > relating to functions

Taylor's theorem1816

Maclaurin's theorem1820

Leibniz theorem1852

Green's theorem1857

Laurent's theorem1893

factor theorem1894

factor law1901

1901 W. J. Milne Acad. Algebra 104 Factor Law.—If a rational integral expression containing x reduces to zero when a is substituted for x, it is exactly divisible by x − a.

2006 M. Cody Math. Methods 15 The null factor law is ‘if a × b = 0 then a = 0 and/or b = 0’.

factor theorem n. Mathematics the theorem stating that (x − a) is a factor of a given polynomial f(x) whenever f(a) = 0, and vice versa.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > proposition > theorem > specific theorem > relating to functions

Taylor's theorem1816

Maclaurin's theorem1820

Leibniz theorem1852

Green's theorem1857

Laurent's theorem1893

factor theorem1894

factor law1901

1894 C. Smith & I. Stringham Elem. Algebra (rev. ed.) xiii. 182 The proposition is an immediate consequence of the factor theorem, which is itself a corollary of the remainder theorem.

1928 C. I. Palmer & W. L. Miser Coll. Algebra ii. 31 The factor theorem assists in factoring by giving a quick way for testing a possible factor.

1971 M. F. Willerding & S. P. Hoffman College Algebra ix. 267 By the Remainder Theorem, the remainder when x³ + 7x² + 3x + 3 is divided by x + 1 is 6. As a corollary of the remainder theorem we have the Factor Theorem.

2010 R. D. Gustafson et al. College Algebra (ed. 10) v. 460 We will use the factor theorem and write the three factors that correspond to the three zeros of 3, 3, and −5.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

factorv.

Brit.

/ˈfaktə/, U.S.

/ˈfæktər/

Forms: see factor n.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: factor n.

Etymology: < factor n. With sense 3 compare earlier factoring n. 2.

1. Business and Finance.

a. transitive. To deal with (goods, money, property, etc.) as a factor or agent.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > [verb (transitive)]

monga1250

corsec1440

coss14..

merchant1511

chafferc1535

merchandise1538

mart1589

trade1589

broke1598

factor1611

handle1638

commercea1641

chop1645

chaffera1657

job1701

truck1715

to turn in1822

monger1928

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > render instrumental [verb (transitive)] > deal with or carry out as agent

factor1611

agent1637

1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. ix. 527/2 The Pope..had his pipes & conducts to conuay this stench into this land, and the wealth of it backe in lieu thereof. Which was now so factoured by his Chaplaine Martin, that [etc.].

1761 Mod. Part Universal Hist. XXXI. 434 A mere noble minor, subjected to certain laws, and chambers erected for factoring his estate.

1834 Rep. Select Comm. Drunkenness 50 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 559) VIII. 315 He factored these publicans' ships.

1875 W. Alexander My Ain Folk vii He's factor't a hantle 'imsel' in's time.

1907 Electrician 20 Dec. 379/1 In every town of importance in Great Britain they had agents, representatives or wholesale houses factoring their goods.

1932 A. J. Cronin Three Loves ii. xiv Henderson and Shaw factored slum property.

2011 G. Andrews & R. Millett Law of Guarantees (ed. 6) viii. 367 The claimant, S, was a finance company which factored invoices..for a company, N.

b. transitive. To sell (invoices, debts, etc.) to a factor for collection of the money owed.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > be in debt [verb (intransitive)] > sell debt (to a factor)

factor1938

society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > owe [verb (transitive)] > repay debt > sell debt (to a factor)

factor1938

1938 H. G. Moulton Financial Organization & Econ. Syst. xviii. 270 The manufacturer who factors his sales is paid for his product whether the invoice is collected or not.

1957 Indian Econ. Rev. 3 108 A detailed analysis of the cost of factoring which can be of real use to business houses in deciding whether they would factor their receivables.

2007 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 17 Sept. 77 There was only a small increase in the number of businesses factoring their debts.

2. intransitive. To act as a factor or agent. In earliest uses figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > find means to do something [verb (intransitive)] > act as intermediate means

to go betweenc1320

to come between ——?1492

intercede1578

factor1621

intermediate1624

trample1624

mediate1630

intervene1646

to come in between ——1676

1621 S. Ward Happinesse of Pract. 44 Send your Prayers and good Workes to factor there for you.

1680 E. Pelling Good Old Way 21 These were that Mystery of Iniquity which was then working and factoring for Antichrist.

1726 Modest Def. Chastity 72 You're Felo de se, by wallowing in Filth, and factoring for Lewdness.

1742 C. Viner Gen. Abridgm. Law & Equity XIII. 3 His Books and Papers lost by no Fault of his, but by a Seisure in Spain where he factored.

1958 Board of Trade Jrnl. 174 5/1 The United Kingdom manufacturer or more particularly his United States subsidiary who factors, is relieved of the need for detailed bookkeeping, collection expenses.

1967 G. B. Giles Case Stud. Marketing xx. 235 Some manufacturers..sell only to merchants who factor for the small retailers.

1971 J. C. Van Horne Financial Managem. & Policy (ed. 2) xx. 527 Most banks that factor are located on the eastern seaboard.

3. transitive. Mathematics (originally U.S.). To resolve (a quantity) into factors; to express as a product of factors; = factorize v. 2a. Also with into. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (intransitive)] > factorize

factor1859

factorize1894

the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (transitive)] > factorize

factor1859

factorize1877

the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or breaking up into constituent parts > separate into constituents [verb (transitive)]

resolvea1398

analyse1606

untwist1611

refract1646

disband1695

decomposea1751

decompounda1751

to break up1751

disintegrate1794

to break down1859

dissociate1869

factor1958

1859 C. Davies New Elem. Algebra iii. 79 Factor 30 a⁴b²c − 6a³b²d³ + 18a³b²c². Ans. 6a³b²(5ac − d³ + 3c²).

1879 T. K. Brown Elem. Algebra 115 The work is most easily performed by factoring both terms and cancelling out common factors.

1947 F. S. Nowlan Coll. Algebra iii. 31 We factor 6 and 72 when we write 6 = 2 × 3 and 72 = 2³ × 3².

1958 Jrnl. Exper. Psychol. 56 486/2 It is possible to show that such a finite state generator can be decomposed, or ‘factored’, into a set of simpler generators.

1966 J. V. Robison Mod. Algebra & Trig. v. 109 To factor a polynomial, we express the polynomial as a product of other polynomials, called factors of the given polynomial.

2010 C. Y. Young Algebra & Trigonom. (ed. 2) ix. 910 There will be times when a polynomial cannot be factored into a product of linear factors with real coefficients.

Phrasal verbs

PV1. With adverbs in specialized senses. to factor in

transitive. To include as a factor; to take into consideration.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > attention > take notice of, heed [verb (transitive)] > take into account, consider

thinka1225

reckona1375

aima1382

allowa1382

considerc1385

accounta1393

regard1512

impute1532

respect1548

to consider of1569

compute1604

to consult with1639

to take into (the) account1660

consult1682

consult for1814

to factor in1964

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > allow, admit of [verb (transitive)] > include as possibility

to rule in1830

to factor into ——1926

to factor in1964

1964 Human Events 13 June 6/1 The drop..is considerable when the value of the dollar then and now is factored in.

1988 P. Monette Borrowed Time i. 15 This last..notion asked that we factor in his being from an exotic clime.

2007 C. J. Clarkson Lithics in Land of Lightning Brothers ii. 10 The cost of bringing people and resources together once round-trip time..is factored in.

to factor out

transitive. To exclude or remove as a factor; to rule out.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > render impossible [verb (transitive)] > eliminate as possibility

eliminate1848

to rule out1866

to factor out1911

1911 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 43 518 The relationships of the principal mass of the population after this Malayan admixture has been factored out.

1966 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 4 Nov. 7/3 Economic impact statistics were compiled from data processing reports of..turnpike station totals and totals factoring out trucks and non-recreational travel.

2006 E. L. Rowan Understanding Child Sexual Abuse ii. 24 They..factored out adverse family situations such as family violence.

PV2. With prepositions in specialized senses. to factor in ——

intransitive. To be a factor in; to have an influence or effect upon.

ΚΠ

1905 Univ. Colorado Stud. 2 229 Natural selection has factored in the development of the expression of the emotions.

1920 Field June 539/1 Individual judgment and the partisanship have factored in the placement as they are bound to. Often..the animal awarded grand champion has been below the standard.

1999 K. A. Appiah & H. L. Gates Africana 1662/2 The music they played..factored in the creation of samba music.

to factor into ——

transitive. To include as a factor in; to take into consideration as an element of.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > allow, admit of [verb (transitive)] > include as possibility

to rule in1830

to factor into ——1926

to factor in1964

1926 Princeton Alumni Weekly 5 May 788/2 Tests..almost always factor chronological age into the situation.

1962 Mich. Bus. Rev. May 4/2 The certain assumption of a significant and persistent rise in the price level is no longer so automatically factored into business and personal planning.

2009 J. Covert & T. Sattersten 100 Best Bus. Bks. of All Time 123 Their findings are then factored into store design, signage, and product placement.

to factor out of ——

transitive. To exclude or remove from as a factor; to rule out of.

ΚΠ

1910 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 16 June 831/1 It is..much easier to deal with the resident pauper now that the roving pauper is in good measure factored out of the equation.

1981 N.Y. Times 22 Mar. iii. 1/1 If those sectors are factored out of sales figures, analysts point out that recent increases in consumer spending..suddenly became flat.

2013 S. Weinberg Lect. Quantum Mech. viii. 258 These delta functions can't simply be factored out of the problem.

Derivatives

ˈfactored adj.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > [adjective] > dealt in by trade

chaffered1377

trafficked1666

factored1732

monetized1945

1732 R. Wilson Interest & Trade Irel. 9 To send our Provisions and factored Commodities to the Maderas.

1886 19th Cent. Aug. 244 Articles sold under other local designations in London and all over the world are the ‘factored’ work of Birmingham craftsmen.

1911 J. V. Collins Pract. Algebra; Second Course ii. 51 In the factored form (a + b)x, the area is expressed as the product of length by breadth; in the unfactored form, ax + bx, the area of each part is found and these parts are added.

1959 Law & Contemp. Probl. 24 87 The average turnover period..was..43.1 days for factored receivables.

2010 K. Sinclair-Robinson Small Bus. Owner's Guide Alternative Funding iii. 120 The advance is figured as a percentage of the face value of the factored invoices.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	factor
释义	factorn. Brit. /ˈfaktə/, U.S. /ˈfæktər/ Forms: late Middle English factowre, late Middle English facture, late Middle English–1800s factour, late Middle English– factor, 1500s factore, 1500s factur, 1600s ffactor; Scottish pre-1700 factour, pre-1700 factoure, pre-1700 factowr, pre-1700 facttour, pre-1700 factur, pre-1700 1700s– factor. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French factor; Latin factor. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman factor, factour, Middle French facteur (French facteur ) agent who buys and sells, or transacts other business, for another person or company (1326), maker, creator, performer (1357; a1475 in specific sense ‘perpetrator of a crime’), partisan, supporter (1372), agent, representative (a1374), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin factor maker, creator, author of a literary work, perpetrator, player (in a ball game), in post-classical Latin also partisan, adherent (11th cent.: see note), agent (frequently from 1380 in British sources), each of two or more whole numbers or quantities which, when multiplied together, produce a given number or expression (1645 or earlier) < fact- , past participial stem of facere to do, make (see fact n.) + -or -or suffix. Compare earlier faitour n., fautor n.Compare Catalan factor (c1400), Spanish factor (late 14th cent.), Portuguese feitor (13th cent.; in senses of branch I.), factor , (now usually) fator (1706; in senses of branch II.), Italian fattore (beginning of the 13th cent. as †fatore ; also †factore ); also Middle Dutch factor (in late sources; Dutch factor , †facteur , †factoor ), German Faktor (1451 as factor ), Swedish faktor (1533 as †factor ), Danish faktor (a1595), all earliest in sense 1a, and Middle Low German factor , facter mercantile agent. Post-classical Latin factor ‘partisan, adherent’ may represent a variant or alteration of fautor fautor n. by association with factor ; however, compare classical Latin facere cum aliquō to take a person's side. With sense 7 compare French facteur (1805 in this sense). With sense 8b compare similar use of German Faktor (1889 (in H. de Vries Intracellulare Pangenesis) or earlier; 1849 or earlier in a more general sense in genetics). I. A person or business. * An agent for another. 1. Business and Finance. a. An agent who buys and sells, or transacts other business, on behalf of another person or company, usually one based in a different place, on commission; a mercantile agent; a commission agent.butter, cheese, cloth, horse, malt, timber, wool factor, etc.: see the first element. See also cornfactor n.In later use a factor is often distinguished from an ordinary agent or broker in having actual possession of the goods he or she deals in, and trading in his or her own name. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > trader > agent or broker > [noun] broker1377 factor1432 entermeter1440 broggerc1460 chapman1570 institor1657 mackeler1682 agent1707 commission man1733 agenting1751 supercargo1782 commission agent1798 commission merchant1798 curbstone broker1848 managing agent1969 society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > non-manual worker > businessman > [noun] > business agent broker1377 officerc1390 factor1432 worker1560 commission man1733 gomashta1747 1432 Petition (P.R.O.) 104.5183 (MED) The factours and the attournes of the seide suppliantz. c1503 ( Indenture in R. Arnold Chron. f. xl/1 Shall ressayue the said v C frankis of y^e said I. de castro and alonso or of any of them or of theyr factors. 1523 Act 14 & 15 Hen. VIII c. 1 No person..shall sell..to any marchaunt..or to any of his..factours..any maner of brode white wollen clothes. c1592 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta i. i Bid my factor bring his loading in. 1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders ii. xxvii. 297 The merchant and factor for these Aromaticke drugs, spices and confects, is my Lord Saint Paul. 1683 London Gaz. No. 1852/8 A Factor..for Norwich Hose or Stockings. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. x. 113 Send Factors all over India to carry on trade. 1796 A. Dirom Inq. into Corn Laws & Corn Trade Great Brit. ii. 69 Honest and substantial persons.., being neither merchants nor factors for the importing of corn. 1850 W. Irving Mahomet & his Successors I. v. 49 Mahomet..was employed by different persons as..factor in caravan journeys to Syria. 1892 W. S. Walsh Handy-bk. Lit. Curiosities 447 The story of a Virginia planter..who wrote to his factor in England to send him two virtuous young women. 1954 G. Ohlin tr. E. F. Heckscher Econ. Hist. Sweden vi. 246 The merchants could now hand over the task of transportation.., while previously they or their factors had staked lives and fortunes on the delivery of goods. 2010 D. L. Brady Essent. Internat. Marketing xi. 193 A foreign factor is a type of agent that sells consigned or delivered merchandise for a commission known as factorage. b. An East India Company employee managing a trading post. Now historical.Early examples are probably contextual uses of sense 1a. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > trader > merchant > [noun] > resident abroad > employees of East India Company factor1600 servant1621 writer1675 scavenger1702 civilian1761 society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > civil service > [noun] > civil servant > types of in India factor1600 koi-hai1816 statutory1888 political1898 1600 Minutes Court Adventurers 23 Oct. in Cal. State Papers: E. Indies (1862) 109 Thos. Wasse to be employed as factor. 1600 Minutes Court Adventurers 18 Nov. in Cal. State Papers: E. Indies (1862) 111 Three principal factors to have each 100l. for equipment..four of the second sort to be allowed 50l...four of the third sort 50l...and four of the fourth and last sort 20l. each. 1611 E. India Co. Comm. 4 Apr. in A. Farrington Eng. Factory in Japan (1991) II. 980 Such of the factors as shall remaine in the shipps..shall be ymployed to..pay the money & keepe due accompte thereof. 1654 Citie Matrons 4 I took up a Factor of the East Indies, that had cozened the Company of much Gold, Jewells, and Druggs, which I made him cast away freely in the Pleasures of this City. 1675 Let. 12 July in J. Bruce Ann. East-India Co. (1810) II. 375 We do order, that..when the Writers have served their times, they be stiled Factors. 1766 R. Stevens Compl. Guide East-India Trade (title page) Addressed to all commanders, officers, factors, &c. in the Honourable East-India Company's Service. 1781 Ld. Cornwallis Corr. (1859) I. 378 We..have a council and senior and junior merchants, factors and writers, to load one ship in the year. 1800 Duke of Wellington in Marquess Wellesley Select. Despatches (1877) 719 Writers or factors filling the stations of registers. 1897 R. W. Frazer Brit. India xvi. 369 These Covenanted Civilians are the successors of the former writers or factors appointed and sent out by the East India Company. 1993 S. C. Ghosh in J. A. Mangan Imperial Curriculum xi. 175 Below the Governor's Council came the senior and junior merchants, the factors and the writers. c. British. In Birmingham and Sheffield: a trader commissioning work or buying goods from an independent maker of hardware, with the finished article usually bearing the factor's trademark rather than that of the maker. Cf. little master n. 3. Now historical. ΚΠ 1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 13 The operatives pressed between reduced prices and want of work, betook themselves to the factors. The factor..advanced to the workman a small sum to purchase the requisite tools. 1914 Econ. Jrnl. 24 274 By the side of the large factory-owner..we find the ‘little master’..making goods on his own account and hawking them at markets or selling them to factors. 1987 N. Thrift in N. Thrift & P. Williams Class & Space i. ii. 35 ‘Little masters’, artisans who had begun to purchase their own raw materials and employed a few apprentices, and ‘factors’, middlemen who took on work and then contracted it out again. d. A person or agency that takes over and collects debts owed to other (esp. finance) companies. ΚΠ 1925 Shoyer v. Wright-Ginsberg Co. in N.Y. State Reporter 240 231 The defendant insists that although the definition adopted by us may have been the original and ordinary meaning of the word ‘factor’, such definition has yielded to later commercial and trade usages... The meaning which defendant says has been thus given to the word is that of a person who merely advances money on goods consigned to him or on accounts receivable transferred to him and who thus becomes simply a commercial banker making loans on certain securities. 1936 J. C. Baker & D. W. Malott Introd. Corporate Finance viii. iii. 331 The representative of a factor..suggested that Mr. Ernst contract with his concern for the financing of the Parisian Silk Company's working capital requirements. 1965 L. K. Brandt Business Finance xi. 221 Factors are even more commercial in their activities than the finance companies discussed above. 1991 Daily Tel. 19 Feb. 30/3 Another customer asked the factors to give him three months' grace. 2. a. gen. A person who acts for another; an agent, deputy, or representative. Now chiefly historical. ΘΚΠ society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > one who acts for another procuratorc1300 proctor1301 attorney1347 provisora1393 assignee1419 procuracya1425 solicitorc1425 factor1445 soliciter1464 doer1465 umbothman1482 agent1523 assign1526 procurera1533 practitioner1560 proxy1585 pragmatic1593 procureur1604 pragmatitioner1607 foreign agent1646 institor1657 agent general1659 proxy-man1696 interestera1701 maat1824 the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [noun] > subsidiary or contributory help > a subsidiary help factor1445 adjutory1508 underhelp1579 subsidiary1603 under-powera1807 contingent1817 tributary1859 contribuenta1866 1445 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 14th Rep.: App. Pt. III: MSS Duke of Roxburghe (1894) 12 in Parl. Papers (C. 7570) XLVI. 471 Twenty schillingis..to be pait to me be the saide Androu Kere or his facturis or subtenandis. 1477 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Brechinensis (1856) I. 201 The saide reuerende fathir, his factouris and ministeris. 1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. avij/2 The kyng..sente anone Aurelyen his factour. 1526 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 224 Their servants, factors, or assignes. 1551 King Edward VI Let. in N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (1847) p. xxx (note) Lycense to..Nicholas Udall and to his factors and assignes to prynt..the worke of Peter Marter. 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 2146/1 They..authorised..the Vicechauncelor, to be the common factor for the vniuersity. 1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iv. xv. 397 Parker was a kind of factor for English Seminaries and Nunnes beyond sea. 1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. v. i. 321 Those judges were a sort of itinerant factors, sent round the country for the purpose of levying certain branches of the king's revenue. View more context for this quotation 1856 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire IV. xxxiii. 61 The jealousy of the emperor was peculiarly sensitive in regard to every act and word of his factor at Alexandria. 1907 F. A. Ober Ferdinand Magellan viii. 108 Dom Manoel had not played his last card, even when his ambassador, his factor, and their despicable tools, the hired assassins, gave up the game in despair. 1983 J. A. Michener Poland vi. 227 Why not let me be your factor for the Ukraine? 2011 N. Cliff Holy War iii. xix. 396 One captain of Sofala murdered one Muslim merchant to whom he was deeply in debt,..and tried to stab to death the king's factor when he complained. †b. A partisan, an adherent, a supporter. Obsolete.In later quots. with admixture of sense 5 or sense 2a (cf. sense 4). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > [noun] > supporter or encourager friendOE procurera1325 fautorc1330 voweec1380 corner-stonec1384 abettor1387 vocatec1390 procurator1395 maintainer?a1400 proctora1413 supporter1426 comforter1483 factorc1503 allower1528 advancer1536 affirmer?1541 agreer1548 encourager1562 fortifierc1565 favourer1567 aim-crier1597 suffragator1606 seconder1623 countenancera1625 affectionate1628 adstipulator1646 flesher1646 fauterera1662 advocate1735 sympathizer1816 sympathista1834 advocator1837 ite1852 rooter1889 spear-carrier1960 c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxvij^/2 Alle the whiche done..byleuen in whichcrafte and sorsery..and their facturs. a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) 165 Martyn Leuter & other of hys factours, in certayne thynges dyd take synistrall opinions. 1642 T. Fuller Holy State v. xi. 400 Modern Factours for the Independent congregations. 1685 E. Stillingfleet Origines Britannicæ iv. 168 Valens and Ursacius, two very busie Factours in the Arian Cause. 1715 R. Bentley Serm. Popery 26 What is He but a vile Factour to Libertinism and Sacrilege? 3. a. Chiefly Scottish. A manager of a landed estate for the owner; a land steward; an agent for a landlord.Especially in Glasgow, a ‘factor’ may act for a tenants' association. ΘΚΠ society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property town-reeveeOE reeveeOE gravec1175 procuratorc1300 dispender1340 provost1340 bailiec1375 officerc1375 dispenserc1380 proctora1382 dispensator1382 farmerc1384 approverc1386 husbanda1387 stewardc1405 chamberlain1423 procurer1477 factor1520 bailiff1528 land-steward1535 improver1536 grieve1537 amtman1582 administrator1596 stead-man1609 dapifer1636 vogt1694 house jobber1709 commissioner1760 foreman1774 house agent1793 ground-officer1815 land-agent1846 wic-reeve1853 steadward1876 house farmer1882 house-knacker1884 land-sergeant1894 1520 in R. Renwick Extracts Rec. Stirling (1887) I. 6 Sir Johen Patonsoun..hais maid Johen Make factour and inbringar of all anuales pertenyn to him. 1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. ii. viii. f. 60^v If any idle factore or baylye do deuoure his masters substance. 1575 in T. M'Crie Life A. Melville (1819) I. 150 (note) His hienes chalmerlan and factor to the said priorissie of the Senis. 1640 in J. Nicholson Minute Bk. War Comm. Covenanters Kirkcudbright 24 July (1855) 17 That he retein in his own hand his factor's fie. 1683 in Pennsylvania Arch. (1852) I. 54 W^m Pickering of y^r Province factor..to one Growden. 1722 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 672 Call for as many copies as you want..from Mr. M^cEwen's factor. 1789 J. Moore Zeluco II. lxxx. 183 In a short time he would be little more than a factor on his own estate. 1804 J. Bristed Anthroplanomenus I. 230 Lord Kinnaird's factor, or bailiff-steward. 1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes v. 305 The Steward, Factor as the Scotch call him, used to send letters and threatenings. 1885 Act 48 Vict. c. 16 §11 It shall not be lawful for any assessor..to be employed as a factor for heritable property or land agent. 1914 F. Niven Justice of Peace iii. iv The landlord's agent (or factor, as he is usually called in Glasgow). 1938 L. MacNeice I crossed Minch ii. viii. 111 A large lady with grey hair whose father was a factor on a large Highland estate. 2000 Herald (Glasgow) 13 Mar. 15 First viewer buzzes. Then second, third, fourth, fifth..and sixth. Go through prepared speech several times..then forget the answer to the very first question posed: how much are your factor's bills? b. Scots Law. An agent or trustee appointed to administer the estate of another; = judicial factor n. at judicial adj. and n. Compounds. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property > manager of forfeited property factor1690 1690 Acts Sederunt Scotl. (1740) I. 166 The Factor shall be lyable for Annualrent of what Rents he shall recover. 1726 Acts Sederunt Scotl. (1790) at Factors That Factors upon sequestrated estates shall..make up a rental of the estate. 1753 Trial J. Stewart 153 The sole offence taken at Glenure, was his acting in the quality of factor on the forfeited estate of Ardshiel. 1807 W. M. Morison Decisions Court of Session XXXIII. App. at Sequestration The Lord Ordinary sequestrated the subjects in question, and appointed a factor to uplift the rents. 2011 S. Stroh Uneasy Subj. iv. 127 Mungo Campbell being the factor for the forfeited estates of the area. c. U.S. Law. In Vermont and Connecticut: a third party who is served notice by a court to surrender money in settlement of a debt or claim; = garnishee n. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > legal seizure or recovery of property > [noun] > seizing lands or goods > attachment of person or property for debt > attachment of money via garnishee > garnishee garnishee1627 factor1858 1858 C. D. Drake Treat. Law of Suits by Attachm. (ed. 2) xviii. 350 §451 In Vermont and Connecticut, he [sc. the garnishee] is sometimes called a factor. 1922 H. B. Hawes et al. Corpus Juris XXVIII. 16/1 In those jurisdictions where garnishment is called ‘trustee process’ or ‘factorizing process’, the garnishee is called ‘trustee’ or ‘factor’ respectively. 1995 B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage (ed. 2) 347/1 In some American states, meanwhile, factor may refer to a garnishee. 4. figurative and in figurative contexts of preceding senses. ΚΠ 1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie Pref. 32 All such partes of the worde of God..no lesse vnsoundly taught and interpreted by all authorized English Pastors, then by Antichristes factors themselues. 1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 81 All other vices are but Factors to Couetousnesse. 1673 tr. E. de Refuge Art of Complaisance 70 Reason and honesty are too oft made factours to their avarice. a1704 T. Brown Satire upon Quack in Wks. (1720) I. 70 Death's busy Factor, Son of Desolation. ?1750 in A. Pennecuik Compl. Coll. Poems i. 8 This Ignorance, the Source of all our Evil, Sae her a faithful Factor to the Devil. 1765 W. Stevenson Orig. Poems II. 90 The rich man..Is but a factor for the skies; Accountable, when fates unfold, Even for his smallest mite of gold. 1897 F. B. Coffin Poems 61 All of life's temptations Surround my head, and I must be A factor to the nation. 1933 ‘H. MacDiarmid’ in Free Man 7 Oct. 6/2 Brooding again on Edinburgh..Mere factor to London now. 1990 S. Raven ‘Is there anybody there?’ said Traveller 144 The vile Teuton that was banker turned up a nine to my nought, and the devil's factor lifted my pretty counters. ** A person who does, makes, or creates something (without implication of agency for another). 5. A person or (less commonly) thing that makes or does something; a doer, maker, creator, performer, perpetrator; an author. Now rare.ode-factor: see ode n. Compounds 1. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > one who acts or does wright971 doer1382 workerc1384 actorc1425 performerc1443 factor1461 committer1509 accomplisher1538 setter1548 enurer1556 performancer1621 commissioner1651 facienta1670 performant1809 enactor1837 transactor1863 1461–2 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1461 §18. m. 11 The same Henry, actour, factour and provoker of the seid commocion. 1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) ii. f. Ciiii Disguysed devyls, Sworne foes of vertue, factours of all evylls. 1598 J. Dickenson Greene in Conceipt 16 Where vertue hath one affecter, vice hath many factors. a1632 T. Middleton & J. Webster Any Thing for Quiet Life (1662) i I have got a Dutch Painter to draw Patterns, which Ile have sent to your Factors..to have pieces made for mine own wearing of a new invention. a1635 R. Corbet Poems (1647) 61 Their Playes had sundry grave wise factors, A perfect Diocess of Actors. 1664 A. Brome Songs & Other Poems (ed. 2) ii. 180 The proemium is so small, To be called Poet, and wear bayes, And Factor turn of Songs and Playes, This it no wit at all. 1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iii. 141 An avow'd Factor and Procurer of that odious Judgement. 1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters xiii. 321 To fasten upon the factor of his monster-crime its responsibility. 1906 G. Pyburn Makers of Wealth 12 Land, Capital and Labor, according to John Stuart Mills [sic], are the three factors of wealth... Labor is in fact the sole factor or maker of wealth. II. An element or constituent, esp. one which contributes to or influences a process or result. 6. a. Mathematics. Each of two or more whole numbers or quantities which, when multiplied together, produce a given number or expression. Also in extended use.common, highest common, primary, prime factor: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > multiplier or multiplicand multipliantc1450 multiplicator1543 multiplier1543 multiplicand1594 factor1658 multiplied1660 coefficient1708 geniture1718 multiplicative1727 factor1779 weight1825 conversion factor1918 scale factor1948 co-factor- 1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour xxxviii. 112 Because there are four figures in the Fractions of the two Factours; therfore there are also four in the product. 1673 J. Kersey Elem. Algebra I. i. iv. 15 The Quantities given to be multiplyed one by the other are called Factors. 1730 Philos. Trans. 1729–30 (Royal Soc.) 36 85 The Product of the Factors that involve impossible Roots in an Equation can never have its Signs changed by substituting any real Quantity whatsoever in place of x. 1780 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 70 408 For that zy may be positive, the signs of the two factors z and y must be alike. 1825 Trans. Royal Irish Acad. 14 Science 80 This might be integrated by resolving it into its factors, but more elegantly by ascending to a differential equation of an higher order. 1872 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (ed. 2) II. vii. i. 307 Error in either factor must involve error in the product. 1906 W. H. Young & G. C. Young Theory of Sets of Points iv. 37 If the sets G₁, G₂,..are all equivalent, and γ be their number,..the equation g = γg₁ is substituted for the preceding equation; g is then called the product of the factors γ and g₁. 1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra ii. 44 Every element x of a finite group G generates a cyclic subgroup whose order is a factor of the order of G. 2011 P. M. Higgins Numbers: Very Short Introd. i. 9 11 and 13..are two consecutive odd numbers that are both prime, separated by the number 12, which in contrast has many factors for its size. b. A number by which a quantity is or should be multiplied; a multiplier; a ratio. by a factor of: by an amount that is numerically larger or smaller by the specified multiple.conversion, discount, integrating, proportionality, scale factor, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > multiplier or multiplicand multipliantc1450 multiplicator1543 multiplier1543 multiplicand1594 factor1658 multiplied1660 coefficient1708 geniture1718 multiplicative1727 factor1779 weight1825 conversion factor1918 scale factor1948 co-factor- 1779 B. Talbot New Art of Land Measuring vi. 127 Multiply the sides A B and B C together, and that product by the factor, for the included angle at B, gives the area of the triangle. 1837 J. Challis Astron. Observ. Observatory of Cambr. XI. p. xxxvi The value employed is 16^s,6, multiplied by a factor taken from Caturegli's Ephemeris. 1911 Proc. 31st Ann. Meeting Soc. Promotion Agric. Sci. 108 To get the factor for carbohydrate valuation multiply the per cent. of fat by 2.25, add this product to the amount of crude fibre. 1916 B. Lasker Brit. Syst. Labor Exchanges 253 Reduced by a factor of four-sevenths when applied to schedule-rated plants. 1938 Rev. Sci. Instruments 9 221/1 No variations in the scaling factor were found for pulses varying in amplitude by a factor of six. 1950 Materials Surv.: Lumber, Railroad Ties (U.S. Dept.Agric., Forest Service) 153 The average factor for converting cross ties to board foot measure is about 35 board feet per tie. 1990 Proc. Royal Microsc. Soc. 25 304/1 An image-splitting eyepiece for measuring particle diameters, which had a setting capability that exceeded the Airy resolution limit by a factor of ten. 2002 Which? Tax Saving Guide 51/2 He multiplies the purchase price by the indexation factor for May 1983 (1.921) to get an indexed cost of £57,630. c. factor of merit n. (originally) a measure of the sensitivity of a reflecting galvanometer (now rare); (in later use) a numerical expression taken as representing the performance or efficiency of a given device, material, or procedure; = figure of merit at figure n. 20c. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun] > measurement of galvanic currents > apparatus for > measure of sensitivity factor of merit1888 1888 Proc. Physical Soc. 10 434 Mr. Swinburne thought that the factor of merit of a galvanometer should be determined differently, according as it was to be used for the measurement of current, or quantity, or for null methods merely. 1890 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 5th Ser. 30 84 An important..question to decide is whether the factor of merit of a galvanometer should be stated for a constant periodic time of oscillation..or for a constant controlling-field. 1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 375/1 The accepted period being 10 seconds, it follows that for any galvanometer the Factor of Merit is 100 D/T² (R_G)^1/2 or 100 D/T²(R_G)^2/5, T being the period in seconds, R_G the resistance of the galvanometer, and D the deflection in millimetres at 1 metre. 1980 A. Hadni in K. J. Button Infrared & Millimeter Waves V3 iii. 157 Different factors of merit have been proposed for the pyroelectrics used in pyroelectric vidicons. 2002 M. A. T. Sanduleanu & E. A. J. M. van Tuijl Power Trade-offs & Low Power in Analog CMOS ICs iv. 76 For comparison with other low-voltage transconductors we need a factor of merit in which dynamic range, THD power and tuning are taken into account. d. Photography. In full filter factor. A numerical measure of the darkness or density of an optical filter, equal to the ratio of the exposure required with it in place to that required when it is not in place. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > technical factors > [noun] > filter factor or scale of exposure exposure1839 time exposure1870 inertiac1886 latitude1889 factor1900 filter factor1904 inertia point1907 intermittency effect1907 Scheiner number1911 scale1920 1900 Photo-miniature Mar. 494 After the negatives are dry make a set of proofs. The one which shows a properly exposed foreground indicates the proper factor for the screen, that is, the number by which the normal exposure is to be multiplied in order to get its equivalent exposure with the screen in place. 1931 Movie Makers Feb. 67/2 (advt.) If you are using a filter, move the filter factor ring and the new lens stop is read instantly. 1991 Photo Answers July 66/1 A filter that has a x2 filter factor needs twice as much exposure—one stop. 2002 G. Rand & D. Litschel Black & White Photogr. ix. 184/2 If the photographer is using a TTL meter system, the filter factor is taken care of because the light reading is made through the filter. 7. a. An element which enters into the composition of something; a circumstance, fact, or influence which contributes to a result. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [noun] > that which main thing1623 agent1624 influence1736 factor1816 subfactor1868 the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > constituent part or component limbc1000 membera1382 elementc1386 parcelc1395 ingredientc1460 partc1530 ingredience1577 principle1594 simple1603 composer1610 partiment1641 component1644 constitutive1647 composite1657 integral1659 ingredient1674 aggregant1749 constituent1757 congredient1767 factor1816 integrant1825 inclusion1845 1816 S. T. Coleridge Statesman's Man. App. p. vi The reason,..is the science of the universal, having the ideas of oneness and allness as its two elements or primary factors. 1845 R. C. Trench Fitness Holy Script. i. 17 This Book..is so essential a factor in the spiritual life of men. 1878 W. E. Gladstone Homer 77 The first factor in the making of a nation is its religion. 1901 Contemp. Rev. Mar. 361 For years the supply of teachers exceeded the demand; now it is the other way.., and that is one of the factors in the training college problem. 1940 Bot. Gaz. 101 684 The rate of development of flowers, fruits, and the like is influenced by environmental factors. 1979 W. F. Murphy Vicar of Christ 204 Being an athlete or the child of an alumnus can be a critical factor for admission. 2002 P. Augar & J. Palmer Rise Player Manager xiii. 291 A committed and motivated workforce is a key factor in providing the competitive edge. b. With modifying word: the influence or significance of something specified, in the context of a larger situation; the specified element as a (usually important) component affecting the outcome, nature, or perception of something. Chiefly with the.buggeration, fear, feel-good, nuisance, risk, sleaze, X, yuck factor, etc.: see the first element. See also chill factor n. at chill- comb. form Additions, wind-chill factor n. at wind n.¹ Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > subsidiary or contributory cause by-grounda1603 occasion1605 by-cause1631 generant1635 concurrency1636 under-cause1645 causa causata1659 concurrent1667 occasional cause1728 condition1817 factor1851 1851 D. H. Riddle Ground of Confidence in Foreign Missions 15 The excesses which seem almost necessarily incident to the human factor in the elements of progress. 1892 Alienist & Neurologist 13 142 In citation of cases to illustrate the unlikeness of children to parents as degeneration stigmata, Lombroso completely ignores this race factor. 1920 E. India Comm. Indian Exchange & Currency II. 204/2 in Parl. Papers (Cmd. 528) XIV. 183 Assume that the Government of India were to say that they would not pay more than a dollar an ounce?—I think, eliminating this uncertain China factor, the price would probably come back to your level. 1956 Caribbean Q. 4 226 Closely related to the excitement factor..is the bearing which Carnival has on religious behaviour. 1982 Washington Post 7 May a26/4 One of the Social Democrats' four co-leaders, William Rodgers, said, ‘The Falklands factor is a major one’ in the disappointing showing of his party. 2009 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) 22 Mar. (Opinion section) 6/1 The first task is for us Scots to overcome the cringe factor about speaking in our own accent and with our own vocabulary. 8. a. Medicine. Any of various protease enzymes and other substances present in blood which are involved in the process of coagulation, many of which have been assigned identifying (usually Roman) numbers.See also factor VIII n. at Compounds 2.Some of the numbered factors are better known by other names (e.g. factor I, fibrinogen; factor II, prothrombin), and some numbers are not assigned. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > components of blood > [noun] > substances involved in coagulation factor1864 coagulin1903 1864 Nat. Hist. Rev. Apr. 162 In striving to determine and isolate the blood-factor, Schmidt found that while serum apparently perfectly free from corpuscles had still the coagulating power, yet the presence of red corpuscles vastly increased its energy. 1911 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. 29 209 Circulating blood contains normally all the necessary fibrin factors, namely, fibrinogen, prothrombin, and calcium. 1947 P. A. Owren in Acta Med. Scand. Suppl. cxciv. 76 Besides prothrombin, thrombokinase, calcium and fibrinogen a fifth factor is needed in order to ensure a normal course of the coagulation process. The factor which is included in the first stage of the coagulation process will be termed Factor V. 1974 R. Passmore & J. S. Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xxi. 56/1 Factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX and X are all manufactured by the liver in the presence of adequate vitamin K₁. 1997 K. J. Clemetson in J. Montreuil et al. Glycoproteins II ix. 191 Von Willebrand factor (vWf) plays an essential role in haemostasis by acting as the carrier molecule for factor VIII. 2008 Independent 29 Jan. (Extra section) 10/3 The bewildered doctors in intensive care struggled for days to staunch the bleeding... Finally, they decided to try an expensive clotting agent called Factor VII. b. Genetics. Originally: an agent that is transmitted from parent to offspring and influences or determines a hereditary character; a gene. Now: esp. an agent of transmission of inherited characters that does not have the precise attributes usually implied by the word ‘gene’ (e.g. that is found outside the nuclear chromosomes).The broad sense ‘gene’ persists esp. in discussions of the history of genetics and in elementary explanations of its principles. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > factor determinant1893 factor1901 determiner1909 sex factor1909 rate factor1927 plasmon1932 plasmagene1939 resistance transfer factor1960 rho1969 1901 K. Pearson in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 197 287 Differentiation, whether due to function, position on the individual, season of production, &c., is usually connected with one or two well-marked dominating factors. 1907 R. C. Punnett Mendelism (ed. 2) 23 Every zygotic cell, being formed by the fusion of two gametes, is a double structure, and contains two factors belonging to any given pair of characters. 1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley Animal Biol. ii. 62 These units are called factors of heredity, or sometimes still more shortly the genes. 1949 C. D. Darlington & K. Mather Elements of Genetics ii. 40 We must then say that the two alternative determinants or factors of each kind in a zygote may be alike or different. 1961 U. Mittwoch tr. E. Hadorn Developmental Genetics i. 1 Not all hereditary factors which obey Mendelian laws should be described as genes, and this applies particularly to lethal factors. A large number of these are due to a loss of more or less extensive pieces of chromosome. 1964 D. Wilkie Cytoplasm in Heredity i. 1 Non-mendelian patterns of inheritance are often interpreted as demonstrating genetic control by cytoplasmic factors. 2002 H. Bertrand & D. Baidyaroy in H. D. Osiewacz Molecular Biol. Fungal Devel. xvii. 424 Other cytoplasmically transmitted factors, namely mutant forms of mitochondrial DNA..and certain mitochondrial plasmids, also can dramatically reduce the pathological aggressiveness of the chestnut blight fungus. c. Biology. Any of various vitamins, hormones, or other substances which promote or stimulate cell growth, differentiation, or some other cellular or physiological process.accessory, extrinsic, growth, releasing, rhesus, sex, transfer factor: see the first element. ΚΠ 1912 F. G. Hopkins in Jrnl. Physiol. 44 425 (title) Feeding Experiments Illustrating the Importance of Accessory Factors in Normal Dietaries. 1922 Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Apr. 279/1 Chickens prove particularly susceptible to an insufficiency of the water-soluble or B factor. 1946 Vitamins & Hormones 4 2 Certain of these factors have been isolated as crystalline compounds, some have been obtained as concentrates, while still others are known only in crude natural vitamin carriers. 1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 7 Oct. 940/2 The isolation and partial characterization of an ‘aggregation factor’ which causes the clumping of separated sponge cells is also described. 1986 R. F. Levine in D. Phillips & M. A. Shuman Biochem. Platelets xi. 418 Clonal proliferation of megakaryocytes in vitro requires the presence of a growth-stimulating factor. 2010 T. W. Sadler Langman's Med. Embryol. (ed. 11) x. 151/2 Serum response factor (SRF) is a transcription factor responsible for smooth muscle cell differentiation. 9. With following numeral: a sunscreen product of the sun protection factor specified. ΚΠ 1982 Jrnl. Amer. Acad. Dermatol. 7 690/1 The application of a factor 15 sunscreen prior to high-dose UVA exposure. 1993 ‘A. McNab’ Bravo Two Zero i. 9 We ran around organizing kit..and screaming into town to buy ourselves new pairs of desert wellies and plenty of Factor 20 for the nose. 2005 Time Out 7 Dec. 172/1 There are some amusing moments, not least a pig being smeared in Factor 30 on Delvoye's sunny art farm in China. Compounds C1. General attributive and appositive (in sense 1), as factor merchant, etc. ΚΠ 1710 Ld. Shaftesbury Soliloquy 145 Certain Merchant-Adventurers in the Letter-Trade, who in Correspondence with their Factor-Bookseller, are enter'd into a notable Commerce with the World. 1778 West India Merchant xx. 155 The profits we received by so many of the rich planters and their factor merchants. 1858 H. Vaughan Addr. River Usk Pref. 18 The factour~wind from far shall bring The odours of the scattered spring. 1880 R. Browning Clive in Dramatic Idyls 91 This fell in my factor-days. 1907 Hearings before Comm. on Interoceanic Canals (U.S. Senate, 59th Congr., 2nd Sess. I. 535 When Secretary Taft's statement was made about our being in the factor business. 1997 D. H. Whittaker Small Firms in Japanese Econ. ii. 25 Small-scale production in the Meiji period was frequently organised by tonya factor-merchants. 2001 N. Budgell Newfoundland Son viii. 72 My objective was to walk to Rigolet, a Hudson Bay Post at the mouth of the Hamilton inlet,..where my uncle George Budgell was Factor Manager. C2. factor analysis n. an analysis of contributory factors; (Statistics) a mathematical technique for calculating the relative importance of each of a set of factors that together are assumed to influence some observed values or properties; a mathematical procedure for accounting for relationships between a number of variates in terms of a smaller number of factors. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > factor analysis factorial analysis1845 factor analysis1928 varimax1956 the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > test of mental ability > factor analysis > [noun] factor analysis1928 1928 Standards Yearbk. (National Bureau Statistics) 4 The factor analysis essential to standardization of process stimulates the development of measured controls. 1931 L. L. Thurstone in Psychol. Rev. 38 406 It is the purpose of this paper to describe a more generally applicable method of factor analysis which has no restrictions as regards group factors and which does not restrict the number of general factors that are operative in producing the correlations. 1969 Computers & Humanities 3 145 While there are several varieties of factor analysis, each of which is designed to handle a special type of problem, they all involve rather elaborate mathematical operations. 2007 Guardian 2 Jan. (Educ. section) 9/1 The second paradox is that intelligence has been measured on the factor analysis of 10 IQ sub-tests, producing a general measure of intelligence known as g. factor-analyse v. transitive to analyse (contributory factors); to perform a factor analysis on. ΚΠ 1939 L. W. Ferguson in Jrnl. Psychol. 8 219 The matrix secured..when factor analyzed by the centroid method yields three psychologically meaningful, but only two statistically significant factors. 1955 Abstr. Diss. for Degrees (Univ. Maryland) 15 May 87 A recent proposal has been made to convert psychophysical data..to estimates of correlation and to factor analyze the matrix of estimates of correlation. 1992 Behavioural Pharmacol. 3 21/2 The adjectives are factor analyzed into eight subscales labeled Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Vigor, Fatigue, Confusion, Friendliness, and Elation. 2006 R. Shepherd & M. Raats Psychol. Food Choice v. 81 Although pickiness and neophobia items loaded on the same factor, when this factor was itself factor-analysed, the finickiness and neophobia items separated. factor cost n. Economics the aggregate cost of production. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses > of production or manufacturing cost of production1815 unit cost1902 factor cost1936 variable cost1953 1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment iii. 24 The aggregate income (i.e. factor cost plus profit) resulting from a given amount of employment. 1941 Economist 12 Apr. 489/2 There are two methods of valuation: the first at factor cost (that is, at what it costs to produce this output), the second at market prices. 1956 F. Lafitte in A. Pryce-Jones New Outl. Mod. Knowl. 579 Factor-cost measurement gives a true indication of the amount of real economic resources appropriated by State ‘consumption’ services. 1971 E. Afr. Jrnl. Mar. 17/1 In 1963, agriculture, forestry and fishing contributed 8·2% of gross domestic product at factor cost. 2012 B. Schmitt in C. Gnos & S. Rossi Mod. Monetary Macroeconomics ii. iii. 89 Apart from profits, national income is equal to factor cost. When profits are added on, it means that the value of national output exceeds its factor cost. factor VIII n. Medicine (also factor eight) a glycoprotein involved in blood clotting whose congenital deficiency causes haemophilia A (the most common form of haemophilia). ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > components of blood > [noun] > substances involved in coagulation > specific factor VIII1954 1954 F. Koller in Blood 9 286 The following designations have been proposed: Factor disappearing during coagulation: Antihemophilic globulin of Cohn et al. Factor VIII. Deficiency: hemophilia A. 1981 Economist 13 June 85/2 Several products..are likely to be made by genetic engineering including human albumin, factor eight, [etc.]. 1985 New Statesman 27 Sept. 14/3 By the middle of 1982..AIDS had appeared among haemophiliacs using the blood-derived clotting agent, Factor VIII. 2007 J. H. Hulse Sustainable Devel. at Risk xiii. 302 Factor VIII to control blood clotting can be synthesised in the milk of GM cattle. factor group n. [after German †Factorgruppe (O. Hölder 1889, in Mathematische Annalen 34 28; now Faktorgruppe)] Mathematics a group G/N, the elements of which are the cosets in a given group G of a normal subgroup N of G; also called quotient group. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > in abstract algebra > groups syntheme1844 group1854 substitution group1861 quaternion group1881 subgroup1881 Abelian group1892 permutation group1893 quotient group1893 factor group1895 order1897 symmetric group1897 point group1903 Sylow subgroup1905 module1927 Lie group1939 symmetry group1956 Weyl group1961 stabilizer1965 1895 Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 1 234 The proof, as given by Hölder, that the factor-groups are constant for all the series of composition of a group, easily follows by induction. 1965 E. M. Patterson & D. E. Rutherford Elem. Abstr. Algebra ii. 49 If G is a finite group of order m and H is a normal subgroup of order n, then..the factor group G/H is a finite group of order m/n. 2008 M. S. Dresselhaus et al. Group Theory i. 11 The order of the factor group is the index of the self-conjugate subgroup. factor law n. Mathematics = factor theorem n. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > proposition > theorem > specific theorem > relating to functions Taylor's theorem1816 Maclaurin's theorem1820 Leibniz theorem1852 Green's theorem1857 Laurent's theorem1893 factor theorem1894 factor law1901 1901 W. J. Milne Acad. Algebra 104 Factor Law.—If a rational integral expression containing x reduces to zero when a is substituted for x, it is exactly divisible by x − a. 2006 M. Cody Math. Methods 15 The null factor law is ‘if a × b = 0 then a = 0 and/or b = 0’. factor theorem n. Mathematics the theorem stating that (x − a) is a factor of a given polynomial f(x) whenever f(a) = 0, and vice versa. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > proposition > theorem > specific theorem > relating to functions Taylor's theorem1816 Maclaurin's theorem1820 Leibniz theorem1852 Green's theorem1857 Laurent's theorem1893 factor theorem1894 factor law1901 1894 C. Smith & I. Stringham Elem. Algebra (rev. ed.) xiii. 182 The proposition is an immediate consequence of the factor theorem, which is itself a corollary of the remainder theorem. 1928 C. I. Palmer & W. L. Miser Coll. Algebra ii. 31 The factor theorem assists in factoring by giving a quick way for testing a possible factor. 1971 M. F. Willerding & S. P. Hoffman College Algebra ix. 267 By the Remainder Theorem, the remainder when x³ + 7x² + 3x + 3 is divided by x + 1 is 6. As a corollary of the remainder theorem we have the Factor Theorem. 2010 R. D. Gustafson et al. College Algebra (ed. 10) v. 460 We will use the factor theorem and write the three factors that correspond to the three zeros of 3, 3, and −5. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). factorv. Brit. /ˈfaktə/, U.S. /ˈfæktər/ Forms: see factor n. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: factor n. Etymology: < factor n. With sense 3 compare earlier factoring n. 2. 1. Business and Finance. a. transitive. To deal with (goods, money, property, etc.) as a factor or agent. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > [verb (transitive)] monga1250 corsec1440 coss14.. merchant1511 chafferc1535 merchandise1538 mart1589 trade1589 broke1598 factor1611 handle1638 commercea1641 chop1645 chaffera1657 job1701 truck1715 to turn in1822 monger1928 the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > render instrumental [verb (transitive)] > deal with or carry out as agent factor1611 agent1637 1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. ix. 527/2 The Pope..had his pipes & conducts to conuay this stench into this land, and the wealth of it backe in lieu thereof. Which was now so factoured by his Chaplaine Martin, that [etc.]. 1761 Mod. Part Universal Hist. XXXI. 434 A mere noble minor, subjected to certain laws, and chambers erected for factoring his estate. 1834 Rep. Select Comm. Drunkenness 50 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 559) VIII. 315 He factored these publicans' ships. 1875 W. Alexander My Ain Folk vii He's factor't a hantle 'imsel' in's time. 1907 Electrician 20 Dec. 379/1 In every town of importance in Great Britain they had agents, representatives or wholesale houses factoring their goods. 1932 A. J. Cronin Three Loves ii. xiv Henderson and Shaw factored slum property. 2011 G. Andrews & R. Millett Law of Guarantees (ed. 6) viii. 367 The claimant, S, was a finance company which factored invoices..for a company, N. b. transitive. To sell (invoices, debts, etc.) to a factor for collection of the money owed. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > be in debt [verb (intransitive)] > sell debt (to a factor) factor1938 society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > owe [verb (transitive)] > repay debt > sell debt (to a factor) factor1938 1938 H. G. Moulton Financial Organization & Econ. Syst. xviii. 270 The manufacturer who factors his sales is paid for his product whether the invoice is collected or not. 1957 Indian Econ. Rev. 3 108 A detailed analysis of the cost of factoring which can be of real use to business houses in deciding whether they would factor their receivables. 2007 Daily Tel. (Sydney) (Nexis) 17 Sept. 77 There was only a small increase in the number of businesses factoring their debts. 2. intransitive. To act as a factor or agent. In earliest uses figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > find means to do something [verb (intransitive)] > act as intermediate means to go betweenc1320 to come between ——?1492 intercede1578 factor1621 intermediate1624 trample1624 mediate1630 intervene1646 to come in between ——1676 1621 S. Ward Happinesse of Pract. 44 Send your Prayers and good Workes to factor there for you. 1680 E. Pelling Good Old Way 21 These were that Mystery of Iniquity which was then working and factoring for Antichrist. 1726 Modest Def. Chastity 72 You're Felo de se, by wallowing in Filth, and factoring for Lewdness. 1742 C. Viner Gen. Abridgm. Law & Equity XIII. 3 His Books and Papers lost by no Fault of his, but by a Seisure in Spain where he factored. 1958 Board of Trade Jrnl. 174 5/1 The United Kingdom manufacturer or more particularly his United States subsidiary who factors, is relieved of the need for detailed bookkeeping, collection expenses. 1967 G. B. Giles Case Stud. Marketing xx. 235 Some manufacturers..sell only to merchants who factor for the small retailers. 1971 J. C. Van Horne Financial Managem. & Policy (ed. 2) xx. 527 Most banks that factor are located on the eastern seaboard. 3. transitive. Mathematics (originally U.S.). To resolve (a quantity) into factors; to express as a product of factors; = factorize v. 2a. Also with into. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (intransitive)] > factorize factor1859 factorize1894 the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (transitive)] > factorize factor1859 factorize1877 the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or breaking up into constituent parts > separate into constituents [verb (transitive)] resolvea1398 analyse1606 untwist1611 refract1646 disband1695 decomposea1751 decompounda1751 to break up1751 disintegrate1794 to break down1859 dissociate1869 factor1958 1859 C. Davies New Elem. Algebra iii. 79 Factor 30 a⁴b²c − 6a³b²d³ + 18a³b²c². Ans. 6a³b²(5ac − d³ + 3c²). 1879 T. K. Brown Elem. Algebra 115 The work is most easily performed by factoring both terms and cancelling out common factors. 1947 F. S. Nowlan Coll. Algebra iii. 31 We factor 6 and 72 when we write 6 = 2 × 3 and 72 = 2³ × 3². 1958 Jrnl. Exper. Psychol. 56 486/2 It is possible to show that such a finite state generator can be decomposed, or ‘factored’, into a set of simpler generators. 1966 J. V. Robison Mod. Algebra & Trig. v. 109 To factor a polynomial, we express the polynomial as a product of other polynomials, called factors of the given polynomial. 2010 C. Y. Young Algebra & Trigonom. (ed. 2) ix. 910 There will be times when a polynomial cannot be factored into a product of linear factors with real coefficients. Phrasal verbs PV1. With adverbs in specialized senses. to factor in transitive. To include as a factor; to take into consideration. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > attention > take notice of, heed [verb (transitive)] > take into account, consider thinka1225 reckona1375 aima1382 allowa1382 considerc1385 accounta1393 regard1512 impute1532 respect1548 to consider of1569 compute1604 to consult with1639 to take into (the) account1660 consult1682 consult for1814 to factor in1964 the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > allow, admit of [verb (transitive)] > include as possibility to rule in1830 to factor into ——1926 to factor in1964 1964 Human Events 13 June 6/1 The drop..is considerable when the value of the dollar then and now is factored in. 1988 P. Monette Borrowed Time i. 15 This last..notion asked that we factor in his being from an exotic clime. 2007 C. J. Clarkson Lithics in Land of Lightning Brothers ii. 10 The cost of bringing people and resources together once round-trip time..is factored in. to factor out transitive. To exclude or remove as a factor; to rule out. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > render impossible [verb (transitive)] > eliminate as possibility eliminate1848 to rule out1866 to factor out1911 1911 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 43 518 The relationships of the principal mass of the population after this Malayan admixture has been factored out. 1966 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 4 Nov. 7/3 Economic impact statistics were compiled from data processing reports of..turnpike station totals and totals factoring out trucks and non-recreational travel. 2006 E. L. Rowan Understanding Child Sexual Abuse ii. 24 They..factored out adverse family situations such as family violence. PV2. With prepositions in specialized senses. to factor in —— intransitive. To be a factor in; to have an influence or effect upon. ΚΠ 1905 Univ. Colorado Stud. 2 229 Natural selection has factored in the development of the expression of the emotions. 1920 Field June 539/1 Individual judgment and the partisanship have factored in the placement as they are bound to. Often..the animal awarded grand champion has been below the standard. 1999 K. A. Appiah & H. L. Gates Africana 1662/2 The music they played..factored in the creation of samba music. to factor into —— transitive. To include as a factor in; to take into consideration as an element of. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > possibility > allow, admit of [verb (transitive)] > include as possibility to rule in1830 to factor into ——1926 to factor in1964 1926 Princeton Alumni Weekly 5 May 788/2 Tests..almost always factor chronological age into the situation. 1962 Mich. Bus. Rev. May 4/2 The certain assumption of a significant and persistent rise in the price level is no longer so automatically factored into business and personal planning. 2009 J. Covert & T. Sattersten 100 Best Bus. Bks. of All Time 123 Their findings are then factored into store design, signage, and product placement. to factor out of —— transitive. To exclude or remove from as a factor; to rule out of. ΚΠ 1910 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 16 June 831/1 It is..much easier to deal with the resident pauper now that the roving pauper is in good measure factored out of the equation. 1981 N.Y. Times 22 Mar. iii. 1/1 If those sectors are factored out of sales figures, analysts point out that recent increases in consumer spending..suddenly became flat. 2013 S. Weinberg Lect. Quantum Mech. viii. 258 These delta functions can't simply be factored out of the problem. Derivatives ˈfactored adj. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > [adjective] > dealt in by trade chaffered1377 trafficked1666 factored1732 monetized1945 1732 R. Wilson Interest & Trade Irel. 9 To send our Provisions and factored Commodities to the Maderas. 1886 19th Cent. Aug. 244 Articles sold under other local designations in London and all over the world are the ‘factored’ work of Birmingham craftsmen. 1911 J. V. Collins Pract. Algebra; Second Course ii. 51 In the factored form (a + b)x, the area is expressed as the product of length by breadth; in the unfactored form, ax + bx, the area of each part is found and these parts are added. 1959 Law & Contemp. Probl. 24 87 The average turnover period..was..43.1 days for factored receivables. 2010 K. Sinclair-Robinson Small Bus. Owner's Guide Alternative Funding iii. 120 The advance is figured as a percentage of the face value of the factored invoices. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1432v.1611
随便看	into the hands of into the know into the mends into the open into the reckoning into the reverence of into the roof into the spout into the such utterance into the suds into the tank into the traces into the utterance into the warm into the waterwards into the widdienecks into the wind into the world into the worse into time into time that into to obs the bargain into to trim into touch into trim