English

Etymology

Noun

1. A minor addition to a text.
2. The part of a common logarithm after the decimal point.
3. (mathematics and computing) The significand; that part of a floating-point number that contains its significant digits.

• (According to the Oxford English Dictionary) "an addition of comparatively small importance, esp. to a text or discourse; a supplement"
• The fractional part (i.e. the part after the separator) of a common logarithm.
• The "fraction part" (part after the separator) of the coefficient of floating-point numbers and normalized numbers in scientific notation. Consisting of the decimal point and the figures following it: the mantissa of 2.4771 is .4771 [Latin: something added]Also, see significand.

• Mantissa is also a novel by John Fowles.
• Mantissa is the name of a loose collection of ships which initially formed the base of the Yuhl/Goehl species/civilization in the Orphans of Earth Trilogy by Shawn Williams and Shane Dix.
• Mantissa Corporation is a manufacturing company located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Specializing in Tilt Tray sorters typically used in distribution centers, internet and mail order centers, postal centers and airports for baggage handling.
• Mantissa Corporation is the name of a software development company specializing in products for datacenter management and optimization. Founded in 1980, the company is currently headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with a subsidiary located in the United Kingdom along with representative agents in South Africa, Norway, Italy, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
• Mantissa is also the name of an early nineties Australian rock/metal band, formed by members of alternative/rock band Killing Time following that group's demise. Mantissa released one LP which attained limited distribution.