minuend

1 9.9

A number you subtract another number from

noun
/ˈmɪn.juː.ɛnd/

Specialized

: minuendo

When performing the subtraction 12 - 5, the minuend is 12.

Examples

The focus of the present research was on simple subtraction problems: those with minuends between 4 and 18 and subtrahends between 2 and 9 (e.g., 5-3; 14-6).

Academic text (2018)
After doubles, lessons focused on number combinations in sets (e.g., all combinations with a sum of 5 or 5 as the minuend).

Academic text (2015)
Do all your students know words such as minuend, subtrahend, quotient, remainder, product, and partial product?

Academic text (2015)
After these warm-up trials, five addition and five subtraction problems were presented, resulting in sums and minuends of 10 or less (e.g., 2 + 4; 4 + 3; 4 - 2; 7 - 3).

Academic text (2010)
In the equation 8 - 3 = 5, the number 8 is the minuend.
To find the difference, always identify the minuend before subtracting the subtrahend.

Surface Forms

minuend singular

minuends plural

Morphology

minuend = minu + end

A specialized mathematical term derived from a Latin verbal stem plus a non‑productive '-end' formation; the parts are not recognizable to average B1 learners and do not transparently yield the meaning.

Etymology

The word minuend comes from the Latin verb minuere, which means 'to lessen', and the ending -end means 'something to be done'. So a minuend is literally 'the number to be lessened', the number you subtract from, just like minus shows 'less'.