non-centraladj.
/nɒnˈsɛntr(ə)l/, U.S. /nɑnˈsɛntr(ə)l/ I. Technical uses.† 1. Mathematics. Of a curve or surface: not having a centre; that is not a circle, ellipse, hyperbola, sphere, etc. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > central condition or position > [adjective] > having no centre
centreless1622
non-central1848
1848 G. Salmon Treat. Conic Sections ix. 118 The ellipse and hyperbola are hence often classed together as central curves, while the parabola is called a non-central curve.
1852 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 142 313 We cannot, by any substitution or rational transformation, make the equation..represent a non-central surface instead of a central one.
2. Statistics. Having or corresponding to a non-zero mean.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [adjective] > relating to distribution > not normal
skew1895
non-normal1896
non-central1928
skewed1940
1928 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 121 670 Cases in which the sum of squares corresponding to n1 degrees of freedom is derived theoretically for non-central deviations with fixed central displacements.
1949 Biometrika 36 202 In the case of the well-known tests using x2, t and F, the evaluation of their power functions involves the use of what have been called non-central distributions.
1968 P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory vii. 323 The quantity x2 in (7.121) is then said to have a non-central x2-distribution.
1998 Geophysics 63 345/1 For the classical case of a single propagating wave with added Gaussian noise, semblance is distributed according to the noncentral beta distribution.
3. Physics. Of a force: not central, i.e. not in general directed along the line joining the bodies between which it acts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [adjective] > specific attributes of force
restitutive1683
unpolar1843
powerful1859
equipotential1865
non-central1929
1929 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 125 485 The non-central field due to the two separated nuclei should give rise to term sequences additional to those familiar in atoms under the names S, P, D, etc.
1948 Physical Rev. 73 1403/1 (heading) The effect of non-central forces on the collisions of high energy neutrons with protons.
1962 Encycl. Dict. Physics V. 610/1 The magnetic forces due to electric currents also have this non-central character.
1966 D. L. Livesey Atomic & Nucl. Physics ix. 414 There are noncentral forces between neutron and proton.
2002 Physical Rev. B. 65 012103-1 The Cauchy condition is strongly violated, indicating a large contribution from a noncentral many-body force.
II. General uses.
4. Not central in location or importance; not situated in, formed in, or holding a central position.
ΚΠ
1922 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 85 22 A credit with a clearing agent might be as important to a non-central bank as actual cash.
1952 R. Jakobson et al. Prelim. Speech Anal. 27 Compact phonemes..are opposed to diffuse phonemes in which one or more non-central formants or formant regions predominate.
1979 Dædalus Winter 94 Traditional Europeanism survived only in noncentral factions.
1990 D. Patching Pract. Soft Syst. Anal. (BNC) 242 There were significant differences in..the extent to which localised (ie non-central) indexes were established.
1996 S. Williams UK Solar Eclipses Gloss. B.2/1 Non-central eclipse, the type of eclipse that lies near the beginning or end of a Saros series.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1848