In
mathematics, and particularly in formal
algebra, an
indeterminate is a symbol that is treated as a variable, but does not stand for anything else but itself and is used as a placeholder in objects such as
polynomials and
formal power series. In particular it does not designate a constant or a
parameter of the problem, it is not an unknown that could be solved for, and it is not a
variable designating a function argument or being summed or integrated over; it is not any type of
bound variable.