N
/N/ quant. 1. A large and indeterminate number of objects:
"There were N bugs in that crock!" Also used in its
original sense of a variable name: "This crock has N bugs,
as N goes to infinity." (The true number of bugs is always
at least N : 1; see {Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic
Entomology}.)
2. A variable whose value is inherited from the current
context. For example, when a meal is being ordered at a
restaurant, N may be understood to mean however many people
there are at the table. From the remark "We'd like to order N
wonton soups and a family dinner for N - 1" you can deduce
that one person at the table wants to eat only soup, even
though you don't know how many people there are.
3. "Nth": The ordinal counterpart of N, senses 1 and 2. "Now
for the Nth and last time..." In the specific context
"Nth-year grad student", N is generally assumed to be at least
4, and is usually 5 or more (see {tenured graduate student}).
See also {random numbers}, {two-to-the-N}.
[{Jargon File}]