SURD • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Surd

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noun

Surd n. (Math.)

A quantity which can not be expressed by rational numbers; thus, sqrt(2) is a surd.

(Phon.) A surd element of speech. See Surd, a., 4.

adjective

Surd adj.

Net having the sense of hearing; deaf. (Obs.) "A surd... generation."

Unheard. (Obs.)

(Math.) Involving surds; not capable of being expressed in rational numbers; radical; irrational; as, a surd expression or quantity; a surd number.

(Phonetics) Uttered, as an element of speech, without tone, or proper vocal sound; voiceless; unintonated; nonvocal; atonic; whispered; aspirated; sharp; hard, as f, p, s, etc.; opposed to sonant.

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Etymology of 'Surd'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Surd" Quotes from Famous Books

... mysterious about Professor Surd's dislike for me. I was the only poor mathematician in an exceptionally mathematical class. The old gentleman sought the lecture-room every morning with eagerness, and left it reluctantly. For was it not a thing of joy to find seventy ...

— Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 • Various

... of goods, kept the same places till, toward three o'clock, they were lost in the mass which covered the floor. Even then there was no uproar, no rush or push, no sharp cries or frenzied shouting; but from the crowd, which was largely made up of elderly men, there rose a sort of surd, rich hum, deepening ever, and never breaking into a shriek of torment or derision. It was not histrionic, and yet for its commercial importance it was one of the most moving spectacles which could offer itself to the eye in the ...

— Seven English Cities • W. D. Howells

... perfectly developed in Handschuh; and yet in other words, as appears from the above examples, it is either simply left out or has its place supplied by z and ss. Further, it sounds almost like wantonness when frequently the surd consonant is put in place of the sonant one or vice versa; when, e. g., puch (for Buch) puecherr is said on the one hand, and wort instead of "fort" on the other. Here belongs likewise the peculiar staccato manner of uttering the syllables, e. g., ...

— The Mind of the Child, Part II • W. Preyer

... that problem Which has never yet been solved, How to live and be contented In the scenes life has evolved, Though in every operation Much must be inferred, We will find this root's extraction Will often prove a surd. ...

— Our Profession and Other Poems • Jared Barhite

... which covered the floor. Even then there was no uproar, no rush or push, no sharp cries or frenzied shouting; but from the crowd, which was largely made up of elderly men, there rose a sort of surd, rich hum, deepening ever, and never breaking into a shriek of torment or derision. It was not histrionic, and yet for its commercial importance it was one of the most moving spectacles which could offer itself to the eye in ...

— Seven English Cities • W. D. Howells