floating-point accelerator
<hardware> (FPA) Additional hardware to perform functions on
{floating point} numbers such as addition, multiplication,
{logarithms}, {exponentials}, {trigonometric functions} and
various kinds of {rounding} and error detection. A floating
point accelerator often functions as a {co-processor} to the
{CPU}.
The term "floating-point accelerator" suggests a physically
larger system, often an extra circuit board, whereas a
"floating-point unit" is probably a single chip or even part
of a chip.
(1994-12-01)