matrix

noun (plural matrices or matrixes) Etymology: Latin, female animal used for breeding, parent plant, from matr-, mater Date: 1555 1. something within or from which something else originates, develops, or takes form 2. a. a mold from which a relief surface (as a piece of type) is made b. die 3a(1) c. an engraved or inscribed die or stamp d. an electroformed impression of a phonograph record used for mass-producing duplicates of the original 3. a. the natural material (as soil or rock) in which something (as a fossil or crystal) is embedded b. material in which something is enclosed or embedded (as for protection or study) 4. a. the extracellular substance in which tissue cells (as of connective tissue) are embedded b. the thickened epithelium at the base of a fingernail or toenail from which new nail substance develops 5. a. a rectangular array of mathematical elements (as the coefficients of simultaneous linear equations) that can be combined to form sums and products with similar arrays having an appropriate number of rows and columns b. something resembling a mathematical matrix especially in rectangular arrangement of elements into rows and columns c. an array of circuit elements (as diodes and transistors) for performing a specific function 6. a main clause that contains a subordinate clause