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N: /N/, quant.

  1. A large and indeterminate number of objects: “There were `N` bugs in that crock!” Also used in its original sense of a variable name: “This crock has `N` bugs, as `N` goes to infinity.” (The true number of bugs is always at least `N + 1`; see Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology.)

  2. A variable whose value is inherited from the current context. For example, when a meal is being ordered at a restaurant, `N` may be understood to mean however many people there are at the table. From the remark “We'd like to order `N` wonton soups and a family dinner for `N - 1`” you can deduce that one person at the table wants to eat only soup, even though you don't know how many people there are (see great-wall).

  3. `Nth`: adj. The ordinal counterpart of `N`, senses 1 and 2.

  4. “Now for the `N`th and last time...” In the specific context “`N`th-year grad student”, `N` is generally assumed to be at least 4, and is usually 5 or more (see tenured graduate student). See also random numbers, two-to-the-N.

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