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Something infinitesimal is extremely small — so small you can barely treat it as a real size.
Something infinitesimal isinfinitesimal的東西是 extremely small極度微小——so small小到 you can barely treat it as a real size你幾乎不能把它當成一個真正的大小。
Maths and science use it for a quantity that sits closer to nothing than to any ordinary number; in calculus, an infinitesimal step is a change so tiny it helps you talk about a smooth slope.
Maths and science use it數學和科學用這個字 for a quantity來形容一個量 that sits closer to nothing than to any ordinary number比起任何一般數字更接近於零; in calculus在微積分裡, an infinitesimal step is一個infinitesimal的步伐是 a change so tiny一個非常微小的變化, it helps you talk about a smooth slope小到能幫你描述一條平滑的斜率。
In everyday English, people borrow it more loosely: an infinitesimal chance, an infinitesimal difference, meaning “tiny, almost not there.” It is a formal, educated word. You would not use it about a sandwich.
In everyday English在日常英文裡, people borrow it more loosely大家用得比較鬆散: an infinitesimal chance, an infinitesimal differencean infinitesimal chance、an infinitesimal difference, meaning "tiny, almost not there."意思是「微小到幾乎不存在」。It is這 a formal, educated word是個正式、有學問感的字。You would not use it你不會拿它 about a sandwich來形容一個三明治。
Though actually, often meet infinite first and guess this must also mean “huge.” It is the other direction: infinite is without end; infinitesimal is without any real size.
Though actually不過實際上, learners often meet infinite first學習者常常先學到infinite and guess this must also mean "huge."就猜這個字大概也是「巨大」的意思。It is the other direction方向其實正好相反: infinite is without endinfinite是「沒有盡頭」; infinitesimal is without any real sizeinfinitesimal是「沒有真正的大小」。
It can also be a noun in maths: an infinitesimal is one of those small quantities. An older maths word for a related idea was fluxion; infinitesimal took its place.
It can also be a noun in maths在數學裡它也可以當名詞: an infinitesimal isan infinitesimal就是 one of those vanishingly small quantities那種微小到快要消失的量之一。An older maths word for a related idea was fluxion以前有個講類似概念的數學字叫fluxion; infinitesimal took its place後來infinitesimal取代了它的位置。
組成From New Latin īnfīnītēsimus + -al. The Latin was built like a “-th” form of infinite (as in thousandth, millionth): the infinite-th, a piece smaller than any ordinary piece. It displaced the older coordinate term fluxion.
同家族的字
- infinitesame ‘not having an end’ stem; this word turns that idea toward ‘impossibly small’
- infinitythe ‘no end’ noun from the same stem
- infinitesimallythe adverb made from this adjective
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
infinitesimaladj/ˌɪnfɪnɪˈtɛsɪməl/
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Incalculably, exceedingly, or immeasurably minute; vanishingly small.
- Do you ever get the feeling that you are but an infinitesimal speck, swallowed by the vastness of the universe and beyond?
- "You will conceive a bunch of grapes," said he, "which are covered by some infinitesimal but noxious bacillus."
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mathematicssciencesOf or pertaining to non-zero quantities whose magnitude is less than any positive rational number.
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informalVery small.
infinitesimalnoun/ˌɪnfɪnɪˈtɛsɪməl/
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mathematicssciencesA non-zero quantity whose magnitude is smaller than any positive number (by definition it is not a real number).
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Something infinitesimally small.
- It occurred to the hearer, who was accustomed to glean much of his knowledge from the infinitesimals of tone, that there was a spice of "It is my duty and I will" in this praiseworthy resolve which fell short of the ecstatic resolution of the Saturday Nora.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。