Kerneantal

Kerneantal is a term encountered in some Dutch- and Afrikaans-language mathematical writing, and less commonly in other languages. It is a compound of kerne (kernel) and antal (number, count). There is no universally accepted definition or standard usage in major reference works, and the term does not have a single entry in standard encyclopedias.

In a mathematical context, kerneantal is sometimes used informally to refer to the nullity of a linear transformation—the dimension of its kernel—or more generally to the size of the kernel set in finite structures. Since “kernel” and “number” are established terms across algebra and linear algebra, kerneantal is typically considered a nonstandard shorthand whose exact meaning depends on the author and the subject (for example, vector spaces, modules, or finite algebraic structures).

In other domains, the term may appear in glossary entries, translations, or software documentation as a placeholder or translation variant for “kernel count” or other kernel-related quantities. Because it is not widely standardized, readers should rely on definitional statements within the specific text for clarification.

See also: kernel, nullity, rank.