polish notation
noun
Simple meaning
A notation for arithmetic formulae in which operations are written immediately before their operands, used to avoid the need for parentheses.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pahlihshnohtayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɑlɪʃnoʊˈteɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
arithmeticlogic
A notation for arithmetic (and logical) formulae in which operations (respectively, quantifiers and operands) are written immediately before their operands, used to avoid the need for parentheses; for example, 3 (4 + 7) is written as 3 + 4 7 and A AND B is written as AND A B.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: (arithmetic, logic) A notation for arithmetic (and logical) formulae in which operations (respectively, quantifiers and operands) are written immediately before their operands, used to avoid the need for parentheses; for example, 3 (4 + 7) is written as 3 + 4 7 and A AND B is written as AND A B.
Used this way, polish notation is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Mathematics
- Geometry
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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