matrices

Noun

matrix (plural matrices or matrixes)

1. The cavity or mold in which anything is formed.
2. (archaic) The womb.
   • upon conception the inward orifice of the matrix exactly closeth, so that it commonly admitteth nothing after […]1650, Thomas Browne, “Enquiries into Vulgar”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 122
3. The metaphorical place where something is made, formed, or given birth.
   • When it is remembered that ritual dancing was the matrix out of which the Drama sprang, and further that the drama in its inception (as still to-day in India) was an affair of religion and was acted in, or in connection with, the Temples, it becomes easier to understand how all this mass of...1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 172
4. The material or tissue in which more specialized structures are embedded.
5. An extracellular matrix, the material or tissue between the cells of animals or plants.
6. Part of the mitochondrion.

See all 21 meanings of matrix

Noun

matrice (plural matrices)

1. (archaic, rare) The womb.