Factor

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A factor, a Latin word meaning 'who/which acts' can be:

a person acting for another as a mercantile and/or colonial agent, or, in Scotland, a Factor is a person or firm managing property on behalf of the owner;
something which is believed to have an effect on a response variable in an experiment (see design of experiments).
in computer science a factor is a mean of authentication a resource. See two-factor authentication.
in mathematics,
- a multiplicative factor is a coefficient; compare multiplication factor
- a number that is a divisor of another number; thus, factorization is to express a number as the product of two numbers.
- a von Neumann algebra with a trivial center;
an enzyme in biochemistry;
factors of production in economics
an acronym for Functionality, Application domain, Conditions, Technology, Objects, and Responsibility in the OOA&D method;
a leader of a cell in one of the philosophical factions in the Planescape setting for Dungeons & Dragons;
the Factor programming language, created by Slava Pestov;