infinitesimal

/(ˌ)in-ˌfi-nə-ˈte-sə-məl/

borrowed from New Latin infīnītēsimālis, from infīnītēsimus "infinite in rank" (from Latin infīnītus "having no limit, " + -ēsimus, suffix of higher ordinal numbers) + Latin -ālis

adjective

  1. immeasurably or incalculably small

  2. taking on values arbitrarily close to but greater than zero

an infinitesimal difference

noun

  1. an infinitesimal quantity or variable

noun

  1. calculus