from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Determinate \De*ter"mi*nate\, a. [L. determinatus, p. p. of
determinare. See {Determine}.]
1. Having defined limits; not uncertain or arbitrary; fixed;
established; definite.
[1913 Webster]
Quantity of words and a determinate number of feet.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Conclusive; decisive; positive.
[1913 Webster]
The determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
--Acts ii. 23.
[1913 Webster]
3. Determined or resolved upon. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
My determinate voyage. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
4. Of determined purpose; resolute. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
More determinate to do than skillful how to do.
--Sir P.
Sidney.
[1913 Webster]
{Determinate inflorescence} (Bot.), that in which the
flowering commences with the terminal bud of a stem, which
puts a limit to its growth; -- also called {centrifugal
inflorescence}.
{Determinate problem} (Math.), a problem which admits of a
limited number of solutions.
{Determinate quantities}, {Determinate equations} (Math.),
those that are finite in the number of values or
solutions, that is, in which the conditions of the problem
or equation determine the number.
[1913 Webster]