- Determinate
- Determinate De*ter"mi*nate, a. [L. determinatus, p. p. of
determinare. See {Determine}.]
1. Having defined limits; not uncertain or arbitrary; fixed;
established; definite.
[1913 Webster]
Quantity of words and a determinate number of feet. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
2. Conclusive; decisive; positive. [1913 Webster]
The determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. --Acts ii. 23. [1913 Webster]
3. Determined or resolved upon. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
My determinate voyage. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
4. Of determined purpose; resolute. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
More determinate to do than skillful how to do. --Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster]
{Determinate inflorescence} (Bot.), that in which the flowering commences with the terminal bud of a stem, which puts a limit to its growth; -- also called {centrifugal inflorescence}.
{Determinate problem} (Math.), a problem which admits of a limited number of solutions.
{Determinate quantities}, {Determinate equations} (Math.), those that are finite in the number of values or solutions, that is, in which the conditions of the problem or equation determine the number. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.