Definition:Division/Divisor

Definition

Let $c = a / b$ denote the division operation on two elements $a$ and $b$ of a field or a Euclidean domain.

The element $b$ is the divisor of $a$.

Also known as

The divisor of an expression $a / b$ is also known as the denominator of $a / b$.

Also see

• Definition:Dividend
• Definition:Quotient (Division)

• Definition:Numerator
• Definition:Denominator

Linguistic Note

The word divisor, in the context of a division operation $a / b$, means that which divides.

The idea is that $a$ is divided by $b$, that is, divided into $b$ parts.

Sources

• 1989: Ephraim J. Borowski and Jonathan M. Borwein: Dictionary of Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): divisor: 1.
• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): division
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): division
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): divisor: 1.