The earliest automorphic functions to be studied were the elliptic modular functions.是什么意思？

The earliest automorphic functions to be studied were the elliptic modular functions.

研究得最早的自导函数是椭圆模函数.

the

art. 指已提到的人（物），指说话人与听者已知的人（物），用于独一无二的事物前，与形容词最高级和序数词连用；

例句
He did have a real knowledge of the country...
他对该国的确知之甚多。

earliest

adj. 早的(early的最高级)，早期的，早熟的，早日的；n. 最早，作为最早期的；

例句
The lecture will trace the depiction of horses from earliest times to the present day.
这个讲座将探究从古至今的画马艺术。

automorphic

adj. 自形的，自守的，自同构的；

例句
The earliest automorphic functions to be studied were the elliptic modular functions.
研究得最早的自导函数是椭圆模函数.

functions

n. 功能( function的名词复数 )，依赖别事物的事物，函数，官能；

例句
Attempts to correlate specific language functions with particular parts of the brain have not advanced very far...
人们试图把特定的语言功能与大脑的某些特定部位联系起来，这一努力目前还没有取得很大进展。

to

prep. 向，朝着，到，关于，属于；adv. 朝一个方向的，到某种状态，关闭；

例句
I suggest you leave it to an expert...
我建议你把它留给专家来解决。

be

v. 是，有，存在，做，成为，发生；aux. 用来表示某人或某物即主语本身，用来表示某人或某物属于某一群体或有某种性质；

例句
The older child should be able to prepare a simple meal...
那个年纪稍大的孩子应当会做一顿简单的饭菜。

studied

adj. 有计划的，故意的，深思熟虑的，精通的；v. 学习，研究( study的过去式和过去分词 )，想出，详细地检查，背诵（台词等）；

例句
At college he studied English and did amateur boxing.
大学时，他学习英语，同时还参加业余拳击。

were

be的过去时复数和第二人称单数形式，有时代替 was,用于条件从句、动词 wish 之后等；

例句
Shops, houses, and vehicles were set ablaze.
店铺、房子和车辆全都陷于火海。

elliptic

adj. 椭圆的，<语>省略的；

例句
The earliest automorphic functions to be studied were the elliptic modular functions.
研究得最早的自导函数是椭圆模函数.