I. |kō+ adjective
Etymology: co- + efficient
: acting together to produce an effect
• co·efficiently “+ adverb
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: New Latin coefficient-, coefficiens, from Latin co- + efficient-, efficiens — more at efficient
1. : something that unites in action to produce an effect : a joint agent
2. : any of the factors (as constants) of a product considered in relation to another factor (as a variable)
in 6 x, bx, x(a + b), 3 xyz the coefficients of x are respectively 6, b, (a + b), 3 yz
3.
a. : a number that serves as a measure of some property (as of a substance or body) or characteristic (as of a device or process) and that is commonly used as a factor in computations
the coefficient of expansion of a metal
the absorption coefficient of a medium for light
the coupling coefficient of a transformer
b. : measure , degree
a coefficient of culture that greatly surpassed the cultural mean — V.V.Nabokov
coefficients of feeling — C.I.Glicksberg