denominator

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the number or expression below the line in a fraction, showing how many equal parts form a whole

   In the fraction three quarters, four is the denominator.

2. 2
   noun

   a shared feature or category that links several people or things

   Curiosity was the common denominator among the successful researchers.

A learned borrowing from Late Latin denominator ("that which names"), from denominare ("to name"). In medieval arithmetic the denominator named the kind of fractional parts, such as thirds or quarters; the figurative common denominator extends the mathematical idea of a shared divisor.

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