An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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In general, the process of repeatedly adding a quantity to itself a certain number of times, or any other process which has the same result.

Verbal noun of → multiply.

The sign used to indicate multiplication, either a times sign (×), a centered dot (·), or an asterisk. The multiplication sign was introduced by William Oughtred in 1631.

→ multiplication; → sign.

A method in the evaluation of polynomials which involves fewer basic operations and allows simpler computation, especially for polynomials of high degree. More specifically, the polynomial P(x) = a₀ + a₁x + a₂x² + a₃x³ + ... + a_nxⁿ can be written in the nested form as: P(x) = a₀ + x(a₁ + x(a₂ + ... + x(a_{n - 1} + a_nx) ...)). For example, the polynomial P(x) = x³ - 5x² + 10x - 3 has the following nested form: P(x) = ((x - 5)x + 10)x - 3. Same as the → Ruffini-Horner method.

→ nested; → multiplication.