polynomial

1. (algebra, strict sense) An expression consisting of a sum of a finite number of terms, each term being the product of a constant coefficient and one or more variables raised to a non-negative integer power, such as a_nxⁿ+a_n-1xⁿ⁻¹+...+a_0x⁰.Examples: "Unfortunately, an analogous attack on the octic polynomial becomes exceedingly complicated."; "Our upper bound is the best possible, and it implies the existence of low-rank factorizations of positive semidefinite bivariate matrix polynomials and representations of biforms as sums of few squares."strict-sense

2. (taxonomy) A taxonomic designation (such as of a subspecies) consisting of more than two terms.