Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Factor"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Factor \Fac"tor\, n. [L. factor a doer: cf. F. facteur a factor.
See {Fact}.]
1. (Law) One who transacts business for another; an agent; a
substitute; especially, a mercantile agent who buys and
sells goods and transacts business for others in
commission; a commission merchant or consignee. He may be
a home factor or a foreign factor. He may buy and sell in
his own name, and he is intrusted with the possession and
control of the goods; and in these respects he differs
from a broker. --Story. --Wharton.
My factor sends me word, a merchant's fled That owes
me for a hundred tun of wine. --Marlowe.
2. A steward or bailiff of an estate. [Scot.] --Sir W. Scott.
3. (Math.) One of the elements or quantities which, when
multiplied together, from a product.
4. One of the elements, circumstances, or influences which
contribute to produce a result; a constituent.
The materal and dynamical factors of nutrition. --H.
Spencer.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Factor \Fac"tor\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Factored} (-t?rd); p. pr.
& vb. n. {Factoring}.] (Mach.)
To resolve (a quantity) into its factors.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
factor
n 1: anything that contributes causally to a result; "a number of
factors determined the outcome"
2: an abstract part of something: "jealousy was a component of
his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition
are melody and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a
sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an
effective ingredient of a speech" [syn: {component}, {constituent},
{element}, {ingredient}]
3: any of the numbers (or symbols) that form a product when
multiplied together
4: one of two or more integers that can be exactly divided into
another integer; "what are the 4 factors of 6?" [syn: {divisor}]
5: a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for
a commission [syn: {agent}, {broker}]
v : resolve into factors [syn: {factor in}, {factor out}]
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