Aliquant

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Aliquant

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Jul 20, 2013 10:15 pm

• aliquant •

Pronunciation: æ-li-kwahnt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A number that does not divide into another number evenly, without leaving a remainder, as 3 is an aliquant of 7; the antonym of aliquot.

Notes: Today we are actually offering two Good Words: aliquant and its antonym aliquot, a number that does evenly divide into another, as 2 is the aliquot of 4, 6, 8, and so on. Obviously this word comes to us from the world of mathematics but, as we shall see below, has its purposes outside that world. It may be used adjectivally, as an aliquant number, though it is a lexical orphan with no distinct family members.

In Play: Even though today's Good Word and its antonym are historically prisoners of mathematics, their senses of "oddity" and "evenness" hold the keys to their escape: "Ali is the only aliquant of our group that keeps it from functioning smoothly." Someone who fits in evenly, without any 'remainder' would be just the opposite: "Our new hire turned out to be just the aliquot we need; she seems to fit the office staff perfectly'. Why leave this rare gem to the sciences when we all could be enjoying it?

Word History: Aliquot came from Latin aliquot "several, a few", while aliquant came from aliquantus "a certain amount of". Aliquantus was put together from alius "other, another, different" + quantus "how great?" The root of alius turns up in several words borrowed from Latin, such as alias, another name, alien, someone from another country or world, and alibi which meant "elsewhere" in Latin. Quantus is very obvious in the English borrowing quantity. Its root is kwo-, which also produced the English interrogative pronouns who, what, when and where; the last three are written WH but pronounced [hw]. Latin qui "who", quo "where", and qualis "what kind of" are all based on the same root.
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Re: Aliquant

Postby MTC » Sat Jul 20, 2013 11:21 pm

As Dr. G suggests, why leave aliquot and aliquant to the mathematicians? People have always been compared to numbers: the odd man out (the aliquant), an even disposition, etc. Conversely, numbers have personalities: they are perfect, friendly, amicable, sociable, and aspiring.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliquot_sequence

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Re: Aliquant

Postby Slava » Sun Jul 21, 2013 12:06 pm

Postby gailr » Thu Sep 27, 2007 2:00 pm

Eight! Four! Two! Ought!
Numbers which can aliquot!
:D
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Re: Aliquant

Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Jul 21, 2013 1:23 pm

:lol:
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Re: Aliquant

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sun Jul 21, 2013 2:30 pm

How did you find that old post with the date of 2007 allotted jto it?
pl

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Re: Aliquant

Postby Slava » Sun Jul 21, 2013 2:50 pm

How did you find that old post with the date of 2007 allotted jto it?
I knew it was there, so I looked for it.

At the bottom of each section front page is a sort function. I alphabetized by subject and sought out aliquant. Turns out this is actually the third time it's been done.
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Re: Aliquant

Postby MTC » Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:39 pm

Eight! Four! Two! Ought!
Numbers which can aliquot!

Seven! Three! Two! Nought!
Numbers which they do not!

"Aliquot" and "aliquant?"
I'd rather read Immanuel Kant!
Last edited by MTC on Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Aliquant

Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Jul 21, 2013 9:08 pm

Kant? Ever study him? I'd rather aliquot/quant.
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Re: Aliquant

Postby Philip Hudson » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:31 am

If yoy kan't spend much time on Kant, I recommend the following short "lecture":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOCmJevigw
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Re: Aliquant

Postby MTC » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:52 am

Many thanks for the YouTube link, Philip. Instant philosophy crystals! Just mix with time and attention.

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Re: Aliquant

Postby makay » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:27 am

In chemistry both words have exact meanings:
An ALIQUOT is a precisely known amount--usually measured with a calibrated pipette. It gives no information about the amount in the universe it is sampling.

An ALIQUANT is a precisely measured amount taken from a larger known amount.

An aliquot allows one to determine the concentration of an analyte (the chemical species being analyzed) in the aliquot. This is also the concentration in the source of the sample. An aliquot may give milligrams per liter of a metal in a lake.

An aliquant, being a known fraction of a larger, known amount, allows the calculation of the amount of the analyte in the total known sample. An aliquant also gives the concentration of an analyte in the sample analyzed, and it allows the amount of that analyte in the larger sample to be calculated. An aliquant may give the concentration of a metal in milligrams per liter, and multiplying by the volume of the larger sample (such as a lake with a known volume in liters calculated from area and depth data) will give the AMOUNT (in grams) of that metal in the lake. This data is needed when the goal is to treat the lake to remove that metal. This method is used in acid rain mitigation, strip-mine runoff treatment, and other environmental issues.

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Re: Aliquant

Postby LukeJavan8 » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:15 pm

If yoy kan't spend much time on Kant, I recommend the following short "lecture":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOCmJevigw


Yup, that's Kant. Cute.
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Re: Aliquant

Postby Slava » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:19 pm

Thanks, mokay, for the enlightening foray into the chemistry of aliquot and aliquant.

Welcome to the Agora, too. I hope you like it here.
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Re: Aliquant

Postby LukeJavan8 » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:24 pm

WELCOME, indeed, mokay
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Re: Aliquant

Postby Philip Hudson » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:14 pm

makay:

Thanks for the excellent description of the chemist's use of aliquot and aliquant. From the dark recesses of my ancient mind I recall my chemistry courses, as a student and a teacher, and think you are spot on.

I hope you plan to be a regular on the Agora. Welcome!
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