multiplicando

Multiplicando is a term used in arithmetic to denote the number that is to be multiplied by another quantity in a multiplication expression. In the binary expression a × b, the multiplicando is a and the other factor is the multiplicador or multiplier. The result is the product a × b.

In English-language mathematics, the standard terms are multiplicand for the number to be multiplied and multiplier for the factor that multiplies it; "multiplicand" and "multiplier" are common, though in everyday usage the two factors are simply called factors.

For example, in 6 × 4 = 24, 6 is the multiplicando, 4 is the multiplicador, and 24 the product. Because real-number multiplication is commutative, reversing the order of the factors yields the same product, though the terms used to describe the factors would swap accordingly.

Origin and usage: The term is standard in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking contexts, where multiplicando corresponds to multiplicand in English. The concept is a basic building block in elementary arithmetic and extends to broader contexts of scalar multiplication in algebra, where a scalar multiplies a quantity.