Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An algebraic quantity that when raised to a certain power equals zero.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In mathematics, vanishing on being raised to a certain power. Thus, if i be such an expression in multiple algebra that i × i × i = 0, i is nilpotent

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective mathematics Describing an element, of a ring, for which there exists some positive integer n such that xn = 0.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective equal to zero when raised to a certain power

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[nil + Latin potēns, potent-, having power; see potent.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word nilpotent.

Examples

  • There is nothing inconsistent with this restriction, and the positive L_m in isolation generate a gauge symmetry; there is no anomaly in the positive sector and thus a nilpotent BRST operator.

    String Theory is Losing the Public Debate Sean 2007

  • Hence this subalgebra admits a nilpotent BRST operator, and can be viewed as a gauge symmetry.

    String Theory is Losing the Public Debate Sean 2007

  • The BRST operator for the full Virasoro algebra is not nilpotent, and hence a global symmetry.

    String Theory is Losing the Public Debate Sean 2007

  • Multi function printer say, as a thyrotropin, she may be nilpotent or cislunar and may act plumb in plagiarized.

    Rational Review 2009

  • One application of the solvable Freiman theorem is the following quantitative version of a classical result of Wolf, which asserts that any solvable group of polynomial growth is virtually nilpotent:

    What's new 2009

  • x (for m ‰¥ 2) which George Boole had introduced in this form in his algebra of logic in 1847; and ˜nilpotent™, when xm = 0, for some m.

    I Am Wearing Stolen Socks 2009

  • It provides a rigorous framework for mathematical analysis in which every function between spaces is smooth (i.e., differentiable arbitrarily many times, and so in particular continuous) and in which the use of limits in defining the basic notions of the calculus is replaced by nilpotent infinitesimals, that is, of quantities so small (but not actually zero) that some power ” most usefully, the square ” vanishes.

    Continuity and Infinitesimals Bell, John L. 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "In mathematics, vanishing on being raised to a certain power. Thus, if i be such an expression in multiple algebra that i × i × i = 0, i is nilpotent." -- Century

    April 2, 2014

  • I have a feeling that it could work well as an insult of some sort...

    April 2, 2014