English Explanatory Dictionary

magnitude

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The absolute or relative size, extent or importance of something.
  2. An order of magnitude.
  3. A number, assigned to something, such that it may be compared to others numerically
  4. Of a vector, the norm, most commonly, the two-norm.
  5. A logarithmic scale of brightness defined so that a difference of 5 magnitudes is a factor of 100.
  6. The apparent brightness of a star, with lower magnitudes being brighter; apparent magnitude
  7. A ratio of intensity expressed as a logarithm.
  8. A measure of the energy released by an earthquake (e.g. on the Richter scale).

Pronunciation

/ˈmæɡnɪtjuːd/ /ˈmæɡnɪt͡ʃuːd/ /ˈmæɡnɪtuːd/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-magnitude.wav

Word forms

magnitude magnitudes

Etymology

From Latin magnitūdō (“greatness, size”), magnus + -tūdō.

Derived words

absolute magnitude apparent magnitude bolometric magnitude macromagnitude magnitudinal micromagnitude millimagnitude moment magnitude scale order of magnitude pseudomagnitude radiometric magnitude signed magnitude visual magnitude
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