orthogonal

[awr-thog-uh-nl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR orthogonal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

Mathematics.

Also orthographic.pertaining to or involving right angles or perpendiculars: an orthogonal projection.
(of a system of real functions) defined so that the integral of the product of any two different functions is zero.
(of a system of complex functions) defined so that the integral of the product of a function times the complex conjugate of any other function equals zero.
(of two vectors) having an inner product equal to zero.
(of a linear transformation) defined so that the length of a vector under the transformation equals the length of the original vector.
(of a square matrix) defined so that its product with its transpose results in the identity matrix.

Crystallography. referable to a rectangular set of axes.

Origin of orthogonal

1565–75; obsolete orthogon(ium) right triangle (< Late Latin orthogōnium < Greek orthogṓnion (neuter) right-angled, equivalent to ortho- ortho- + -gōnion -gon) + -al¹

Related formsor·thog·o·nal·i·ty, nounor·thog·o·nal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for orthogonal

rectangular, quadrate, quadratic, equilateral, foursquare, boxlike, boxy, rectilinear, squarish

Examples from the Web for orthogonal

Contemporary Examples of orthogonal

Actually, the issue of plural vs. singular is orthogonal to the dilemma she wants to pose.
Responding To Critics Of "On Questioning The Jewish State"
Joseph Levine
March 18, 2013
And that brings up another question about those bacterial targets, the ones that are so orthogonal to human cellular pathways.
Worried About Incurable Tuberculosis? Stand By for Incurable Everything.
Megan McArdle
March 12, 2013

Historical Examples of orthogonal

Velocities in linkages were determined by orthogonal components transferred from link to link.
Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt
Eugene S. Ferguson
In the first place, each of these figures may be conceived as an orthogonal projection of a closed plane-faced polyhedron.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 8
Various
The involutes are “orthogonal trajectories” of the tangents to the common evolute.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5
Various

British Dictionary definitions for orthogonal

orthogonal

adjective

relating to, consisting of, or involving right angles; perpendicular

maths

(of a pair of vectors) having a defined scalar product equal to zero
(of a pair of functions) having a defined product equal to zero

Derived Formsorthogonally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for orthogonal

adj.

1570s, from French orthogonal, from orthogone, from Late Latin orthogonius, from Greek orthogonios "right-angled," from ortho- "straight" (see ortho-) + gonia "angle," related to gony "knee" (see knee (n.)). Related: Orthogonally.

orthogonal in Science

orthogonal

[ôr-thŏg′ə-nəl]

Relating to or composed of right angles.

Relating to a matrix whose transpose equals its inverse.

Relating to a linear transformation that preserves the length of vectors.