Noun

(en noun)

(obsolete) A doer, maker; a person who does things for another person or organization.

An agent or representative.

* (Christopher Marlowe)

My factor sends me word, a merchant's fled / That owes me for a hundred tun of wine.

*, II.21:

*:And let such as will number the Kings of Castile and Portugall amongst the warlike and magnanimous conquerors, seeke for some other adherent then my selfe, forsomuch as twelve hundred leagues from their idle residence they have made themselves masters of both Indias, onely by the conduct and direction of their factors , of whom it would be knowne whether they durst but goe and enjoy them in person.

* 1644 , (John Milton), (Aeropagitica) :

What does he therefore, but resolvs to give over toyling, and to find himself out som factor , to whose care and credit he may commit the whole managing of his religious affairs; som Divine of note and estimation that must be.

(legal)

# A commission agent.

# A person or business organization that provides money for another's new business venture; one who finances another's business.

# A business organization that lends money on accounts receivable or buys and collects accounts receivable.

One of the elements, circumstances, or influences which contribute to produce a result.

* (Herbert Spencer)

the material and dynamical factors of nutrition

(mathematics) Any of various objects multiplied together to form some whole.

* 1956 , , (The City and the Stars) , p.38:

The first thousand primesthe complete sequence of all those numbers that possessed no factors except themselves and unity.

(root cause analysis) Influence; a phenomenon that affects the nature, the magnitude, and/or the timing of a consequence.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Charles T. Ambrose

, title= Alzheimer’s Disease , volume=101, issue=3, page=200, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.}}

(economics) A resource used in the production of goods or services, a factor of production.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= T time , passage=The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them

(Scotland) A steward or bailiff of an estate.

(Sir Walter Scott)

Noun

(en noun)

A confrontation; a dare.

# An instigation or antagonization intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not.

#*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-11-30, volume=409, issue=8864, magazine=(The Economist), author=Paul Davis

, title= Letters: Say it as simply as possible , passage=Congratulations on managing to use the phrase “preponderant criterion” in a chart (“ On your marks”, November 9th). Was this the work of a kakorrhaphiophobic journalist set a challenge by his colleagues, or simply an example of glossolalia?}}

# A bid to overcome something.

#* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 5, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport

, title= Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool , passage=For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.}}

# (sports) An attempt to take possession; a tackle

#* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 1, author=Saj Chowdhury, work=BBC Sport

, title= Wolverhampton 1-2 Newcastle , passage=Argentine midfielder Jonas Gutierrez added a superb second when he surged past four challenges to fire in low.}}

# A summons to fight a duel; also, the letter or message conveying the summons.

# The act of a sentry in halting a person and demanding the countersign, or (by extension) the action of a computer system demanding a password, etc.

A difficult task, especially one that the person making the attempt finds more enjoyable because of that difficulty.

(label) A procedure or action.

# (legal, rare) A judge's interest in the result of the case for which he or she should not be allowed to sit the case, e.g. a conflict of interest.

# The act of appealing a ruling or decision of a court of administrative agency.

# The act of seeking to remove a judge, arbitrator or other judicial or semi-judicial figure for reasons of alleged bias or incapacity.

# (label) An exception to a person as not legally qualified to vote. The challenge must be made when the ballot is offered.

(label) The opening and crying of hounds at first finding the scent of their game.