Exponentiation
When it is a positive integer, the exponent indicates how many copies of the base are multiplied together. For example, . The base appears times in the repeated multiplication, because the exponent is . Here, is the "base", is the "exponent", and is the "power" or, more specifically, "3 raised to the 5th power".
Surreal number
A general exponentiation can be defined as , giving an interpretation to expressions like . Again it is essential to distinguish this definition from the "powers of ω" function, especially if ω may occur as the base.