coefficient

Etymology

From French coefficient. Coined by French mathematician François Viète. Or influenced by (New) Latin coefficient-, which is the stem of coefficiens, which is a substantivation of the present active participle of coefficio, which comes from co- and efficio.

adj

1. Cooperating.
   And so our own idea of Christ compels us to admit that two factors, the one natural, the other supernatural, were coefficient in his entrance into human life; 1850, August Neander, The Life of Jesus Christ in Its Historical Connexion and Historical ..., page 13
   Nevertheless, there was some substance to the notion that acclaim and merit were coefficient. 2005, Mathew Callahan, Boff Whalley, The Trouble with Music, page 12

noun

1. (mathematics) A constant by which an algebraic term is multiplied.
2. A number, value, or item that serves as a measure of some property or characteristic.