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Can Multiply be used as noun, such as in "matrix multiply"? I heard of this from some Americans.
Or should it be "matrix multiplication" instead?
Tim
Posted 2014-02-14T21:37:29.727
Reputation: 2 631
Can "multiply" be a noun?
Answers
3
Agree with FumbleFingers. The experts from any domain have their own language and way of convincing the message. I'm a healthcare provider and while describing/discussing medical things among us, we generally overlook grammar because for us, that's trivial in that case.
I searched several dictionaries but could not find the word multiply as a noun. In my pro version of WordWeb (cannot give link here as it's not online) it says...
Multiply as a verb and adjective. Derived: Noun: multiple, multiplication, multiplier.
I further tried to understand the term in mathematics as well. As you got it right, the correct term is Matrix Multiplication. So, maybe, the experts use it in an informal way but the message is convinced.
Maulik V
Posted 2014-02-14T21:37:29.727
Reputation: 66 188
3
It needs to be "multiplication". "Multiply" is strictly a verb.
Panzercrisis
Posted 2014-02-14T21:37:29.727
Reputation: 947
0
Multiply can be a noun. As in, "I performed one multiply followed by two adds." In this case, a multiply refers to a mathematical operation. It's often used this way in math and computer science.
It's similar to how we say, "I went for a run." run is normally a verb but in this case it's a noun.
jcoffland
Posted 2014-02-14T21:37:29.727
Reputation: 101
Anything can be a noun. This would have to be a very specific situation like “that matrix multiply (symbol) is fuzzy, we should reprint the page”. Your instinct seems good. – Tyler James Young – 2014-02-14T22:05:36.403
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I don't think mathematicians are exactly renowned for their precise use of English (they think maths is the only "true" language anyway). But as this NGram shows, although there's a significant minority using the "wrong" form, the vast majority do get it right.
– FumbleFingers Reinstate Monica – 2014-02-15T00:14:31.1871If someone said "matrix multiply" I would think they were talking about a particular algorithm (or implementation of one on a computer) for matrix multiplication. – Mark S. – 2014-02-16T01:25:59.957
why is that? @MarkS. Are you saying "matrix multiply" is correct for computer algorithms? – Tim – 2014-02-16T01:31:45.647
@Tim This is a guess, but I think it may come from the imperative form of the verb. If I want to "matrix multiply" two expressions in a program, I might call the function
MatrixMultiplyor something like that. At the very least, Mathematica has a functionNonCommutativeMultiply, which may have given me the idea. – Mark S. – 2014-02-16T01:35:49.413