indeterminates

Noun

indeterminate (plural indeterminates)

1. (strict-sense) A symbol that resembles a variable or parameter but is used purely formally and neither signifies nor is ever assigned a particular value;
   • The form is linear, quadratic, cubic, biquadratic or quartic, quintic, &c., according to its order in respect of the indeterminates it contains; and binary, ternary, quaternary, &c., according to the number of its indeterminates. Thus x²+y² is a binary quadratic form, x³+y³+z³-3xyz is a ternary...1862, H. J. Stephen Smith, Report on the Theory of Numbers—Part III, Report of the 31st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, British Association for the Advancement of...
2. (strict-sense, loose sense) a variable.

See all 9 meanings of indeterminate