department of mathematics
1
2.9
- noun
- Academic Press, Textbooks and Mathematics, by Donald W Blackett, Department of Mathematics, Boston University.
Examples
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The department of mathematics at Harvard University offers a wide range of courses in calculus and algebra.
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Many students aspire to conduct research in the department of mathematics due to its esteemed faculty.
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She received her degree from the department of mathematics, where she specialized in statistics.
Synonyms
1
2.9
The part of a university where teachers and students study math and do research
How Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
department + of + mathematics
The meaning is directly compositional: 'department' (an organizational unit) + 'of' (indicating association) + 'mathematics' yields an academic unit responsible for mathematics. This pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard noun + of + noun possession/association structure, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
The phrase department of mathematics comes from how a university is split into parts for each subject: a department is the part that looks after one subject and mathematics is the study of numbers and shapes. So, it means the university group that 'teaches and studies' mathematics.