MA'TRIX, noun [Latin matrix from mater, mother.]

1. The womb; the cavity in which the fetus of an animal is formed and nourished till its birth.

2. A mold; the cavity in which any thing is formed, and which gives it shape; as the matrix of a type.

3. The place where any thing is formed or produced; as the matrix of metals; gang.

4. In dyeing, the five simple colors, black, white, blue, red and yellow, of which all the rest are composed.