English Explanatory Dictionary

scalar

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Having magnitude but not direction.
  2. Consisting of a single value (e.g. integer or string) rather than multiple values (e.g. array).
  3. Of, or relating to scale.
  4. Of or pertaining to a musical scale.
  5. Relating to particles with a spin (quantum angular momentum) of 0 (known as spin 0).
  6. Pertaining to the dimension on which something is measured.
noun
  1. A quantity that has magnitude but not direction; compare vector.
  2. An amplifier whose output is a constant multiple of its input.

Pronunciation

/ˈskeɪ.lə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-scalar.wav /skeɪ.lɚ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-scalar.wav /ˈskæɪ.lə/

Word forms

scalar scalars

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin scālāris, adjectival form from scāla (“a flight of steps, stairs, staircase, ladder, scale”), for *scadla, from scandere (“to climb”); compare scale. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

Related words

nondimensional

Derived words

electroscalar graviscalar hyperscalar interscalar intrascalar isoscalar macroscalar multiscalar nonscalar scalar boson scalar curl scalar field scalar function scalarize scalarly scalar multiplication scalaron scalar product scalar triple product scalar-valued scalarwise subscalar superscalar pseudoscalar
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