pfaffian
/ˈfæfɪən/
pfaffian is the alternative letter-case form of Pfaffian.
Noun (1) capitalized: Pfaffian
Pfaffian (plural Pfaffians)
- The determinant of a skew-symmetric matrix, capable of being written as the square of a polynomial in the matrix entries.
- If A is a skew symmetric matrix then det A is the square of a polynomial in the entries of A. This polynomial is known as the Pfaffian of A, and we denote it by Sym(pf A).1993, Chris Godsil, “Pfaffians”, in Algebraic Combinatorics, page 113
Noun (2) capitalized: Pfaffian
Pfaffian (plural Pfaffians)
- A member of a circle of artists that met at Pfaff's, a restaurant on Broadway.
- Charles E. Hurd, assistant editor of the Boston Transcript, has published in the Commercial Bulletin an academic account of the literary Bohemia of New York at the time the Pfaffians flourished and Ada Clare, Whitman's friend, reigned as its queen.1897 March, The Conservator
- While the publication became noted for its conservatism, the Pfaffians, inspired by the writings of Henri Murger and visits to Parisian bohemian quarters, avowedly dismissed the restraints of convention and pursued a freewheeling personal lifestyle.1999, Ronald Lora, The Conservative Press in Eighteenth-and Nineteenth-century America, page 140
Forms of pfaffian
| plural | pfaffians |
|---|---|
| plural | Pfaffians |
| alternative form | pfaffian |
Origin of pfaffian
From Pfaff + -ian, after Johann Friedrich Pfaff.
After Charles Ignatious Pfaff, the founder of the restaurant.
Questions about pfaffian
- What does pfaffian mean?
- Pfaffian means the determinant of a skew-symmetric matrix, capable of being written as the square of a polynomial in the matrix entries.
- What is pfaffian the alternative letter-case form of?
- Pfaffian is the alternative letter-case form of Pfaffian.
- What part of speech is pfaffian?
- Pfaffian is a noun.
- How do you pronounce pfaffian?
- Pfaffian is pronounced /ˈfæfɪən/.
- What is the plural of pfaffian?
- The plural of pfaffian is pfaffians.
Words near pfaffian in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pfaffian (page history and authors); Pfaffian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “pfaffian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pfaffian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.