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mantissa definition

man·tissa (man tis′ə)

noun

the decimal part of a logarithm to base 10 as distinguished from the integral part (called the characteristic) .7193 is the mantissa of the logarithm 4.7193

Etymology: L, (useless) addition, makeweight, gain, ? via Etr < Celt: ? so named because it supplements the integral

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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