Degree
When using the term "quadratic polynomial", authors sometimes mean "having degree exactly 2", and sometimes "having degree at most 2". If the degree is less than 2, this may be called a "degenerate case". Usually the context will establish which of the two is meant.
Sometimes the word "order" is used with the meaning of "degree", e.g. a second-order polynomial.
Read more about this topic: Quadratic Polynomial
Famous quotes containing the word degree:
“Nothing in life possesses value except the degree of power—assuming that life itself is the will to power.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“A certain degree of neurosis is of inestimable value as a drive, especially to a psychologist.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“A certain degree of miserey [sic] seems inseparable from a high degree of populousness.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)