N

N /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 + 1; see {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 (see
   {great-wall}).  3. `Nth': adj. 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}.