exponentiation

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English

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Etymology

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Ultimately from exponent +‎ -ation.[1] Perhaps from exponential +‎ -ation.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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exponentiation (countable and uncountable, plural exponentiations)

  1. (mathematics, arithmetic) The process of calculating a power by multiplying together a number of equal factors, where the exponent specifies the number of factors to multiply.
    In 54 the base is 5 and the power is 4, so there are 4 identical factors of 5, and exponentiation gives 625 as the result.
    • 1998 August 25, Peter Wayner, “IBM Says Encryption System Prevents Hacker Attack”, in The New York Times[1]:
      "The remarkable fact about the system is that it achieves such a high level of security with only six exponentiations," Boneh said, referring to the calculations used to raise numbers to a power. Other systems do exponentiation once, suggesting that this system may be about six times slower because exponentiation is the most time-consuming step in encrypting the data.
  2. (mathematics, arithmetic, countable) A mathematical problem involving exponentiation.
    • 1998 August 25, Peter Wayner, “IBM Says Encryption System Prevents Hacker Attack”, in The New York Times[2]:
      "The remarkable fact about the system is that it achieves such a high level of security with only six exponentiations," Boneh said, referring to the calculations used to raise numbers to a power. Other systems do exponentiation once, suggesting that this system may be about six times slower because exponentiation is the most time-consuming step in encrypting the data.

Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ exponentiation, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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exponentiation f (uncountable)

  1. exponentiation (process)