English Explanatory Dictionary

quaternion

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A group or set of four people or things.
  2. A word of four syllables.
  3. A type of four-dimensional hypercomplex number consisting of a real part and three imaginary parts (real multiples of distinct, independent square roots of −1 denoted by i, j and k); commonly used in vector mathematics and as an alternative to matrix algebra in calculating the rotation of three-dimensional objects.

Pronunciation

/kwəˈtɜːni.ən/ /kwɑˈtɜɹniɑn/ /kwə-/ /-ən/

Word forms

quaternion quaternions

Etymology

From Middle English quaterniǒun, from Late Latin quaterniō, from quaternī (“four each”) + -iō, from quater (“four times”). Doublet of kern. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1843.

Synonyms

foursome tetrad

Related words

octonion sedenion trigintaduonion pathion chingon routon voudon

Derived words

binarion biquaternion coquaternion hyperbolic quaternion multenion quaternion algebra quaternionic quaternionics quaternionist split-quaternion unarion
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