FUNCTION

FUNCTION, a term used in analytics for an algebraical expression any how compounded of a certain letter or quantity with other quantities or numbers; and the expression is said to be a function of that letter or quantity. Thus $a=4x$, or $a\; \backslash times\; 3x^2$, or $2x-a\backslash sqrt\{a^2-x^2\}$, or $x^6$, or $x^8$, is each of them a function of the quantity $x$.