/N/ quant. 1. A large and indeterminate number of objects: "There were N bugs in that crock!"Also used in its original sense of a variable name: "This crock has N bugs, as N goes to infinity."(The true number of bugs is always at least N + 1see {Lubarsky' s Law of Cybernetic Entomology}.)2. A variable whose value is inherited from the current context.For example, when a meal is being ordered at a restaurant, N may be understood to mean however many people there are at the table.From the remark "We' d like to order N wonton soups and a family dinner for N - 1" you can deduce that one person at the table wants to eat only soup, even though you don' t know how many people there are.3. "Nth": The ordinal counterpart of N, senses 1 and 2."Now for the Nth and last time..." In the specific context "Nth-year grad student", N is generally assumed to be at least 4, and is usually 5 or more (see tenured graduate student). See also random numbers, two-to-the-N.[Jargon File]