TITLE: Mathematical words outside of mathematics
QUESTION [13 upvotes]: We've all heard expressions like "We need to factor this into the equation," where mathematical words have broader meanings than strictly mathematical. I'd like to develop a collection of such usages.  Of course, there's "grows exponentially" for just about any rapid growth, and "the rate has accelerated" not really meaning the third derivative.  Also, there's Friedman's cool usage of "orthogonal" at the Supreme Court (https://www.librarything.com/topic/193156).  Here's my two-part question: is there already list of such usages, somewhere? Can you contribute some examples?

REPLY [5 votes]: I've often wondered whether whoever created Delta Airlines' slogan
"Delta means change" had some mathematical training . . .

REPLY [2 votes]: French has an expression "c'est epsilon" meaning something like
"it's negligible".  French 
wiktionary says this sense is "par extension" from the mathematical usage.
There's also lambda
"(Éthologie) Un membre considéré comme le plus ordinaire d’un ensemble",
which might have a mathematical origin.