| 释义 |
▪ I. factor, n.|ˈfæktə(r)|
Also 6–7 factour.
[ad. Fr. facteur, ad. L. factor, agent-n. f. facĕre to do, make. Some of the obs. senses are immediately from L.]
I. A doer, agent.
†1. One who makes or does (anything); a doer, maker, performer, perpetrator; an author of a literary work. Obs. or arch.
1563Mirr. Mag., Hastings xxxi, Foes of vertue, factours of all evylls. 1598J. Dickenson Greene in Conc. (1878) 116 Where vertue hath one affecter, vice hath many factors. a1635Corbet Poems (1807) 18 Their plays had sundry grave wise factors, A perfect diocess of actors. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. iii. (1702) I. 141 An avow'd Factor and Procurer of that odious Judgement. 1863Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. xiii. 321 To fasten upon the factor of his monster-crime its responsibility.
†2. A partisan, adherent, approver. Obs. [So in med.Lat.; Du Cange regards it as a corruption of the synonymous fautor; but cf. L. facere cum aliquo to take a person's side.] In the latest examples with mixture of sense 1 or 3.
1502Arnolde Chron. (1811) 177 Alle the ..whiche done..byleuen in whichcrafte and sorsery..and their facturs. 1542–7Boorde Introd. Knowl. xvi. (1870) 165 Martyn Leuter & other of hys factours, in certayne thynges dyd take synistrall opinions. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. 400 Modern Factours for the Independent congregations. 1685Stillingfl. Orig. Brit., Two very busie Factours in the Arian Cause. 1715Bentley Serm. x. 365 What is he but a vile Factor to Libertinism and Sacrilege?
3. One who acts for another; an agent, deputy, or representative. Now rare.
1485Caxton Chas. Gt. iii. (1881) 16 The kyng..sente anone Aurelyen his factour. 1551Edw. VI Let. in Udall's Royster D. (1847) p. xxx. note, Lycense to..Nicholas Udall and to his factors and assignes to prynt..the worke of Peter Marter. 1563–87Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 643 They..Authorised..the Vicechancellor, to be the common Factor for the University. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iv. xv. 397 Parker was a kind of factor for English Seminaries and Nunnes beyond sea. a1704T. Brown Sat. Quack Wks. 1730 I. 63 Death's busy factor, son of desolation. 1776Adam Smith W.N. v. i. (1869) II. 298 These judges were a sort of itinerant factors, sent round the country for the purpose of levying certain branches of the king's revenue. 1862Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) IV. xxxiii. 104 The jealousy of the emperor was peculiarly sensitive in regard to every act and word of his factor at Alexandria.
fig.1601Dent Pathw. Heaven 72 All other vices are but Factors to Couetousness. 1673S. C. Art Complaisance 70 Reason and honesty are too oft made factours to their avarice.
4. a. Comm. One who buys and sells for another person; a mercantile agent; a commission merchant. Also in comb., as corn-factor, cotton-factor, produce-factor, wool-, etc. factor.
At the present time, a factor is distinguished from an ordinary agent or broker, in having actual possession of the goods he deals in, and trading in his own name (N.E.D.).
1491in Arnolde Chron. (? 1503) 40/1 Shall ressayue the said v. C. frank of y⊇ said J. de castro and alonso or of any of them or of theyr factors. 1523Act 14–15 Hen. VIII, c. 1 No person..shall sell..to any marchaunt..or to any of his..factours..any maner of brode white wollen clothes. c1592Marlowe Jew of Malta i. i, Bid my factor bring his loading in. 1683Lond. Gaz. No. 1852/8 A Factor..for Norwich Hose or Stockings. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. x. 113 Send Factors all over India to carry on trade. 1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesman II. xlviii. 212 The buyers of cheese, butter, corn and malt, are called factors. 1850W. Irving Mahomet v. (1853) 26 Mahomet..was employed by different persons as..factor in caravan journeys to Syria. 1891P.O. London Directory 1689/3 Corn and flour factors. See also..Malt factors..Hop factors..Seed factors.
b. One of the third class of the East India Company's servants. Obs. exc. Hist.
[1600Min. Crt. Adventurers 23 Oct. in Cal. State Papers, E. Indies (1862) 109 Thos. Wasse to be employed as factor. Ibid. 18 Nov. ibid. 111 Three principal factors to have each 100l. for equipment..four of the second sort to be allowed 50l...four of the third sort 50l...and four of the fourth and last sort 20l. each.] 1675–6in J. Bruce Ann. East-India Co. (1810) II. 375 We do order, that..when the Writers have served their times they be stiled Factors. 1781Ld. Cornwallis Corr. (1859) I. 378 We..have a council and senior and junior merchants, factors and writers, to load one ship in the year. 1800Wellington in Owen Desp. 719 Writers or factors filling the stations of registers.
c. At Birmingham and Sheffield: A trader who buys hardware goods from the workman or ‘little master’ by whom they are made, usually causing his own trade-mark to be stamped upon them.
1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 13 The operatives pressed between reduced prices and want of work, betook themselves to the factors. The factor..advanced to the workman a small sum to purchase the requisite tools.
d. attrib.
1858H. Vaughan Address River Usk Pref. 18 The factour⁓wind from far shall bring The odours of the scattered spring. 1711Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) I. 304 Certain merchant adventurers in the letter-trade, who in correspondence with their factor-bookseller, are enter'd into a notable commerce with the world. 1880Browning Dram. Idylls 2nd Ser. Clive 91 This fell in my factor-days.
5. a. One who has the charge and manages the affairs of an estate; a bailiff, land-steward. Obs. exc. Sc.
1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. ii. viii. (1634) 187 If any idle Factor or Bayliffe doe devoure his masters substance. 1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 17 That he retein in his own hand his factor's fie. 1683Pennsylv. Archives I. 54 Wm Pickering of yr Province factor..to one Growden. 1722Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 672 Call for as many copies as you want..from Mr. McEwen's factor. 1804J. Bristed Pedestrian Tour I. 230 Lord Kinnaird's factor, or bailiff-steward. 1840Carlyle Heroes (1858) 326 The Steward, Factor as the Scotch call him, used to send letters and threatenings. 1885Act 48 Vict. c. 16 §11 It shall not be lawful for any assessor..to be employed as a factor for heritable property or land agent.
b. A person legally appointed to manage forfeited or sequestered property. Sc.
1690Acts of Sederunt 31 July, The factor shall be lyable for annualrent of what rents he shall recover. 1753Stewart's Trial 153 The sole offence taken at Glenure, was his acting in the quality of factor on the forfeited estate of Ardshiel. 1885R. Bell Hand-bk. Law Scot. §1480 To take measures for the preservation of the estate..by the appointment of a judicial factor.
c. U.S. Law. (See quot.)
1878Drake Attachm. (ed. 5) §451 In Vermont and Connecticut, he [the garnishee] is sometimes called a factor, and the process [of garnishing], factorizing process.
II.
6. Math. One of two or more numbers, expressions, etc., which when multiplied together produce a given number, expression, etc. Also, common factor, primary factor, prime factor, for which see the adjs. Used also of groups, rings, and other sets that can be produced from a given group, etc., by an analogue of division. So factor group, etc. (see 9).
1673Kersey Algebra i. iv. (1725) 15 The Quantities given to be multiplied one by the other are called Factors. 1780Hutton in Phil. Trans. LXX. 408 For that zy may be positive, the signs of the two factors z and y must be alike. 1855H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (1872) II. vii. i. 305 Error in either factor must involve error in the product. 1881Maxwell Electr. & Magn. I. 1 Every expression of a Quantity consists of two factors or components. 1906W. H. & G. C. Young Theory Sets of Points iv. 37 If the sets G1, G2,..are all equivalent, and γ be their number,..or their potency in the general case, the equation g = γg1 is substituted for the preceding equation [sc. g = g1 + g2 + ..]; g is then called the product of the factors γ and g1. 1965J. J. Rotman Theory of Groups iv. 58 If G = H × K, H is called a direct factor of G; in additive notation, H is a direct summand of G.
7. a. transf. An element which enters into the composition of anything; a circumstance, fact, or influence which tends to produce a result. factor cost (see quot. 1941).
1816Coleridge Lay Serm. 339 The reason..is the science of the universal, having the ideas of oneness and allness as its two elements or primary factors. 1845–6Trench Huls. Lect. 1st Ser. i. 14 This Book..is so essential a factor in the spiritual life of men. 1878Gladstone Prim. Homer 77 The first factor in the making of a nation is its religion. 1941Economist 12 Apr. 489/2 There are two methods of valuation: the first at factor cost (that is, at what it costs to produce this output), the second at market prices (that is, at cost plus the indirect taxes and rates that have to be added in before the output can be sold). 1956F. Lafitte in A. Pryce-Jones New Outl. Mod. Knowl. 579 Factor-cost measurement gives a true indication of the amount of real economic resources appropriated by State ‘consumption’ services. 1971E. Afr. Jrnl. Mar. 17/1 In 1963, agriculture, forestry and fishing contributed 8·2% of gross domestic product at factor cost.
b. Genetics. Orig., a gene or other agent that is transmitted from parent to offspring and influences or determines a hereditary character; now esp. an agent that has not been shown to have the precise attributes usu. implied by the word ‘gene’.
The sense ‘gene’ continues esp. in contexts that are elementary or have allusion to the historical development of genetics. For a discussion of the uses of G. faktor, factor by Gaertner 1849, Mendel 1865, and De Vries 1889, see R. C. Olby Origins of Mendelism (1966); the use in English prob. arose naturally our of sense 7 rather than as a consequence of the German.
1901K. Pearson in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. CXCVII. 287 Differentiation, whether due to function, position on the individual, season of production, &c., is usually connected with one or two well-marked dominating factors. 1905Bateson & Gregory in Proc. R. Soc. B. LXXVI. 581 The mode of appearance of a new type [of Primula] by the recombination of the factors brought in by the pure parental type. 1906W. Bateson et al. in Rep. Evol. Comm. R. Soc. III. 3 The appearance of colour is due to the association, in one zygote, of two factors belonging to independent allelomorphic pairs. 1907R. C. Punnett Mendelism (ed. 2) 23 Every zygotic cell, being formed by the fusion of two gametes, is a double structure, and contains two factors belonging to any given pair of characters. 1910L. Doncaster Heredity 136 In Mendelian inheritance, the hereditary determinant of a particular character is spoken of as the factor for that character. 1920Amer. Naturalist LIV. 97 (heading) Are the factors of heredity arranged in a line? 1927Haldane & Huxley Anim. Biol. ii. 62 These units are called factors of heredity, or sometimes still more shortly the genes. 1949Darlington & Mather Elem. Genetics ii. 40 We must then say that the two alternative determinants or factors of each kind in a zygote may be alike or different. 1958Brocklehurst & Ward Gen. School Biol. xxii. 303 The alternative characters, round or wrinkled cotyledons and yellow or green cotyledons, are caused to develop by factors of two allelomorphic pairs. 1961U. Mittwoch tr. Hadorn's Developmental Genetics i. 1 Not all hereditary factors which obey Mendelian laws should be described as genes, and this applies particularly to lethal factors. A large number of these are due to a loss of more or less extensive pieces of chromosome.., and such deficiencies are also inherited in a Mendelian manner. 1964D. Wilkie Cytoplasm in Heredity i. 1 Non-mendelian patterns of inheritance are often interpreted as demonstrating genetic control by cytoplasmic factors.
c. Photogr. In full filter factor. (See quot. 1921.)
1909C. E. K. Mees Photogr. Coloured Objects iii. 19 If we wish to find the multiplying factor of this filter, we must consider it in relation to the sensitiveness curve of the plate. 1912E. J. Wall Dict. Photogr. (ed. 9) 338 It is very important to know the number of times the exposure is to be increased; it is not a constant factor..but varies according to the light. 1921Photogr. Jrnl. Apr. 168 A filter factor is the ratio of the exposure required with a given filter to the exposure without the filter. 1961G. Millerson Technique Telev. Production iii. 40 Any filter introduces some light loss, and the working aperture has to be increased, or lighting augmented to compensate. This light attenuation is known as the filter's factor. A ‘times four’ (× 4) filter..requires four times the normal exposure.
d. Med. Each of several substances in the blood which are involved in the process of coagulation and have been assigned identifying (usu. Roman) numbers; factor VIII (or eight), a beta globulin whose congenital deficiency is the cause of hæmophilia.
[1903Zentralblatt für Physiol. XVII. 530 Auch gibt es kein wirksames Ferment, das ohne die Mitwirkung aller dieser drei Faktoren entstände.] 1911Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. XXIX. 209 Circulating blood contains normally all the necessary fibrin factors, namely, fibrinogen, prothrombin, and calcium. 1947P. A. Owren in Acta Med. Scand. Suppl. cxciv. 76 The investigations..demonstrate that besides prothrombin, thrombokinase, calcium and fibrinogen a fifth factor is needed in order to ensure a normal course of the coagulation process. The factor which is included in the first stage of the coagulation process will be termed Factor V. 1954F. Koller in Blood IX. 286 The following designations have been proposed: Factor disappearing during coagulation: Antihemophilic globulin of Cohn et al. Factor VIII. Deficiency: hemophilia A. 1961[see Christmas disease]. 1974Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xxi. 56/1 Factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX and X are all manufactured by the liver in the presence of adequate vitamin K1. 1981Economist 13 June 85/2 Several products..are likely to be made by genetic engineering including human albumin, factor eight, [etc.]. 1983Oxf. Textbk. Med. II. xix. 111 A 50 per cent level of factor VIII..is compatible with a normal haemostatic response. 1984J. F. Lamb et al. Essent. Physiol. (ed. 2) iv. 85 The formation of the active form of factor X can occur..by an intrinsic pathway, which probably starts with activation of factor XII by collagen. 1985Listener 14 Feb. 5/3 Many haemophiliacs who have received the blood-clotting substance factor eight have also become infected.
e. With defining word, as Falklands factor, designating an event, etc., which may be a significant element in the outcome of a larger situation; spec. one which affects the position of a political party in the polls.
1982Washington Post 7 May a26/4 One of the Social Democrats' four co-leaders, William Rodgers, said, ‘The Falklands factor is a major one’ in the disappointing showing of his party. 1986Observer 4 May 4/5 With the Libyan Legacy taking over from the Falklands Factor, the only question about Thursday's local elections is the extent of Labour's gains. 1986Ibid. 11 May 9/7, I did..wonder whether the Fulham Factor, or the..Kinnock Revival, would increase Labour's share at Liberal expense in West Derbyshire to the extent that the Conservatives would have an adequate majority.
8. a. factor of safety: the ratio between the load which a structure or material is capable of supporting and the load which it is required to support, or between the stress which causes it to break and the stress which it is required to stand; also, the ratio between the elastic limit of the structure and the usual load. Cf. safety 6.
1858[see safety 6]. 1866W. J. M. Rankine Usef. Rules 205 Factors of safety for perfect materials and workmanship... Dead Load 2. Live Load 4. 1876Encycl. Brit. IV. 296/2 In designing a girder the load which it will have to carry is multiplied by a number called the factor of safety, varying from 3 to 6. 1877W. H. White Man. Naval Archit. 377 Supposing a factor of safety of 8 to be taken instead of 10, the safe working load..for timber subject to compressive strains would be about three-eighths of a ton per square inch. 1891[see safety 6]. 1910Hawkin's Electr. Dict., Factor of safety, 1. A term expressive of a determined limit to which materials or machines shall be subjected; the safety limit. 2. In wiring, the ratio between the breaking stress of a wire and the maximum tension to which it is subjected in overhead suspension. 1962B.S.I. News Aug. 20/1 The factor of safety is really a factor of ignorance. The factor of safety becomes less as we learn more about properties and behaviour of materials. 1970H. Braun Parish Churches x. 132 Their buildings were massive and employed a wide factor of safety to achieve moderate heights.
b. factor of merit (Electr. Engin.): a measure of the sensitivity of a reflecting galvanometer (see quot. 1922). Cf. figure of merit (figure n. 20 c).
1890W. E. Ayrton et al. in Phil. Mag. XXX. 84 An important..question to decide is whether the factor of merit of a galvanometer should be stated for a constant periodic time of oscillation..or for a constant controlling-field. 1922Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 375/1 The accepted period being 10 seconds, it follows that for any galvanometer the Factor of Merit is 100 D/T2 (RG)1/2 or 100 D/T2(RG)2/5, T being the period in seconds, RG the resistance of the galvanometer, and D the deflection in millimetres at 1 metre.
9. Comb. factor analysis Statistics, a mathematical technique for calculating the relative importance of each of a set of factors that together are assumed to influence some observed set of values or properties; factor group Math. [tr. G. factorgruppe (O. Hölder, 1889)], a group G/H the elements of which are the cosets in a given group G of a normal subgroup H of G; factor law = factor theorem; factor theorem Algebra, the theorem that if f(x) is a polynomial and f(a) = 0, then (x - a) is a factor of f(x), and conversely.
1931L. L. Thurstone in Psychol. Rev. XXXVIII. 406 It is the purpose of this paper to describe a more generally applicable method of factor analysis which has no restrictions as regards group factors and which does not restrict the number of general factors that are operative in producing the correlations. 1938Mind XLVII. 102 The results of a factor-analysis of the abilities involved, are..to be investigated. 1946H. Cramér Math. Methods Statistics xxxvii. 555 In the psychological factor analysis of human ability, the variables x1,.., xm represent the measurements of m given different variables of a person, while u1,.., un are more or less ‘general’ factors of intelligence, and v1,.., vm are ‘specific’ factors, each associated with a particular ability. 1969Computers & Humanities III. 145 While there are several varieties of factor analysis, each of which is designed to handle a special type of problem, they all involve rather elaborate mathematical operations.
1897W. Burnside Theory Groups Finite Order vii. 119 If a group has two different composition-series, the number of terms in them is the same and the factor-groups derived from them are identical except as regards the sequence in which they occur. 1965Patterson & Rutherford Elem. Abstract Algebra ii. 49 If G is a finite group of order m and H is a normal subgroup of order n, then..the factor group G/H is a finite group of order m/n.
1901W. J. Milne Acad. Algebra 104 Factor Law.—If a rational integral expression containing x reduces to zero when a is substituted for x, it is exactly divisible by x - a. 1908― Stand. Algebra 106 (heading) Factor Theorem. 1928Palmer & Miser Coll. Algebra ii. 31 The factor theorem assists in factoring by giving a quick way for testing a possible factor. 1966J. V. Robison Mod. Algebra & Trig. xi. 242 (heading) Remainder and factor theorems.
Sense 4 d in Dict. becomes 4 e. Add: [4.] d. A person or agency that takes over and collects debts owed to other (esp. finance) companies.
1925Shoyer v. Wright-Ginsberg Co. in N.Y. State Reporter CCXL. 231 The defendant insists that although the definition adopted by us may have been the original and ordinary meaning of the word ‘factor’, such definition has yielded to later commercial and trade usages... The meaning which defendant says has been thus given to the word is that of a person who merely advances money on goods consigned to him or on accounts receivable transferred to him and who thus becomes simply a commercial banker making loans on certain securities. 1936Baker & Malott Introd. Corporate Finance viii. iii. 331 Mr. Ernst was approached by the representative of a factor who suggested that Mr. Ernst contract with his concern for the financing of the Parisian Silk Company's working capital requirements. 1965L. K. Brandt Business Finance xi. 221 Factors are even more commercial in their activities than the finance companies discussed above. 1977Belfast Tel. 22 Feb. 16/6 That, say the factors, frees cash for expansion, saves on administrative costs and leaves staff free to do productive work. 1986Your Business Mar. 7/2 Factors don't want failing companies.
▪ II. factor, v.|ˈfæktə(r)|
[f. prec. n.]
1. rare.
a. intr. To act as a factor or agent. In quot. fig.
b. trans. To deal with (goods, money, etc.) as a factor; in Birmingham and Sheffield use, to procure goods as a factor does (see prec. 4 c).
1611Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. ix. §70. 527 The Pope..had his pipes and conducts to conuay this stench into this land, and the wealth of it backe in lieu thereof. Which was now so factoured by his Chaplaine Martin, that, etc. 1621S. Ward Happiness of Practice 44 Send your Prayers and good Workes to factor there for you. 1692[see below]. Mod. (Sheffield), He manufactures a few articles, and factors the rest.
2. a. Math. To resolve (a quantity) into factors; to express as a product of factors; = factorize v. 2. orig. U.S.
1848J. Ray Algebra i. ii. 73 The principal use of factoring, is to shorten the work, and simplify the results of algebraic operations. 1859C. Davies New Elem. Algebra iii. 79 Factor 30 a4b2c - 6a3b2d3 + 18a3b2c2. Ans. 6a3b2(5ac - d3 + 3c2). 1901W. J. Milne Acad. Algebra 93 From any expression that is to be factored, the monomial factors should usually first be removed. 1941Birkhoff & MacLane Surv. Mod. Algebra iv. 88 The polynomial x2 + 1..cannot be factored into polynomials with rational coefficients. 1947F. S. Nowlan Coll. Algebra iii. 31 We factor 6 and 72 when we write 6 = 2 × 3 and 72 = 23 × 32. 1966J. V. Robison Mod. Algebra & Trig. v. 109 To factor a polynomial, we express the polynomial as a product of other polynomials, called factors of the given polynomial.
b. transf. To resolve or decompose into components.
1958G. A. Miller in Jrnl. Exper. Psychol. LVI. 486/2 It is possible to show that such a finite state generator can be decomposed, or ‘factored’, into a set of simpler generators.
Hence ˈfactored ppl. a., ˈfactoring vbl. n. and ppl. a.
1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. viii. xlvi, A carrion-crow he is..the devil's factoring knave. 1692Settle Triumphs Lond. Ded., Chaffering or Factoring have been thought so unnecessary Preliminaries in dealing with Sir John Fleet, that [etc.]. 1883Birm. Daily Post 11 Oct., The Hardware Factoring Business. 188619th Cent. Aug. 244 Articles sold under other local designations in London and all over the world are the ‘factored’ work of Birmingham craftsmen.
Add:[1.] c. To sell (debts) to a factor. Also absol. Cf. *factor n. 4 d.
1934Factor II. iii, Widely diverse commodities of foreign and domestic origin..are being factored at the present moment. 1936Baker & Malott Introd. Corporate Finance viii. iii. 334 As the technique of factoring was developed over the years, the significance of the word ‘factor’ was increased by the inclusion of advances, not merely on merchandise, but against accounts receivable as well. 1968J. C. Van Horne Financial Managem. & Policy xx. 430 When a firm factors its receivables..it actually sells them to a factor. 1971Ibid. (ed. 2) xx. 527 Most banks that factor are located on the eastern seaboard. 1976Scotsman 15 Dec. 4/4 Alex Lawrie Factors..disclose a {pstlg}6.3 million increase in debts factored. 1985T. Lundberg Starting in Business vii. 90 The trader's customers will be aware that the debts have been factored.
[2.] c. to factor in, to include as a factor in an assessment; to take into consideration; to factor out, to exclude from an assessment; to rule out. orig. and chiefly N. Amer.
1975Aviation Week 17 Mar. 9/1 Real growth remained after factoring out inflation's impact—about 6{pcnt}. 1975Chemical Week 23 Apr. 28 British chemical makers are not sure..how much the oil will cost when government taxation plans are factored in. 1981N.Y. Times 22 Mar. iii. 1/1 If those sectors are factored out of sales figures, analysts point out that recent increases in consumer spending..suddenly became flat. 1984S. Talbott Deadly Gambits (1985) xviii. 334 START is a non-starter, and one reason is that it doesn't take sufficient account of bombers. Is there any way to factor in bombers? 1986E. E. Smith Miss Melville Regrets i. 10 It was a contingency she always had to factor into her plans. 1988P. Monette Borrowed Time i. 15 This last..notion asked that we factor in his being from an exotic clime. 1991Los Angeles Times 7 Jan. a17/2 All the political and military variables should be factored in before Israel decides on a response. |
