faculty / factorial
Loading your saved state.
faculty
A main organizational unit of a university or college that brings together several related academic subjects and institutes.
Er lehrt als Professor an der medizinischen Fakultät der Charité.
He teaches as a professor at the medical faculty of Charité.
factorial
In mathematics, the product of all positive whole numbers from 1 up to a given number n. The symbol for this is the exclamation mark (!).
Die Fakultät von 5 (geschrieben als 5!) ist 120.
The factorial of 5 (written as 5!) is 120.
faculty
(elevated, becoming dated) A mental or physical ability or capacity of a person.
Trotz seines hohen Alters waren seine geistigen Fakultäten noch vollkommen intakt.
Despite his advanced age, his mental faculties were still completely intact.
Careful: the English word 'faculty' often refers to the teaching staff of a university. The German 'Fakultät' (faculty) is, however, a division or department, not the group of teachers.
Alle Professoren der Fakultät für Physik trafen sich zur Konferenz.
All professors of the faculty of physics met for the conference.
The three meanings are very different and become clear from context. If it is about a university, it means a department or division. In mathematics, it is a calculation operation. If someone is speaking very formally about a person's abilities, the third meaning is intended.
An welcher Fakultät möchten Sie studieren?
Which faculty would you like to study in?
In a university context, the word is almost always combined with a field of study. Common examples are 'juristische Fakultät' (law faculty), 'medizinische Fakultät' (medical faculty), 'wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät' (faculty of economics/business studies), or 'philosophische Fakultät' (faculty of humanities/philosophy).
Sie ist Dekanin der medizinischen Fakultät.
She is dean of the medical faculty.
The mathematical meaning is a technical term. You can recognize it from the context of numbers and formulas. The associated symbol is the exclamation mark (!).
Die Fakultät von 4 (4!) ist 24, denn 1 mal 2 mal 3 mal 4 ist 24.
The factorial of 4 (4!) is 24, because 1 times 2 times 3 times 4 is 24.
The meaning 'Fähigkeit' (ability) is outdated and is now used only in very elevated language, usually in the plural. It often refers to mental abilities.
Trotz seines hohen Alters waren seine geistigen Fakultäten beeindruckend.
Despite his advanced age, his mental faculties were impressive.
institute
Institut and Fakultät refer to units within a higher education institution. An Institut usually focuses on a specific subject or field of research; a Fakultät is a larger main unit that brings together several related subjects and institutes.
Die Fakultät für Naturwissenschaften umfasst Biologie, Chemie und Physik.
The Faculty of Natural Sciences includes biology, chemistry, and physics.
Das Institut für Biologie untersucht die Pflanzen der Region.
The Institute of Biology studies the plants of the region.
