The definition of a matrix is an environment in which something is created or the rock in which a crystal or fossil is embedded.
(noun)See matrix in Webster's New World College Dictionary
Origin: LL, womb, public register, origin < L, breeding animal < mater (gen. matris), mother
See matrix in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun pl. ma·tri·ces (māˈtrĭ-sēzˌ, mătˈrĭ-) or ma·trix·es
Origin:
Origin: Middle English matrice
Origin: , from Old French
Origin: , from Late Latin mātrīx, mātrīc-
Origin: , from Latin, breeding-animal
Origin: , from māter, mātr-, mother; see māter- in Indo-European roots
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