orthogonal

[ awr-thog-uh-nl ]

/ ɔrˈθɒg ə 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.

Nearby words

orthogenic, orthognathia, orthognathic, orthognathic surgery, orthognathous, orthogonal, orthogonal matrix, orthogonal projection, orthogonal trajectory, orthogonalize, orthograde

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 forms

or·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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The involutes are “orthogonal trajectories” of the tangents to the common evolute.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5|Various
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

Velocities in linkages were determined by orthogonal components transferred from link to link.
Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt|Eugene S. Ferguson

British Dictionary definitions for orthogonal

orthogonal

/ (ɔːˈθɒɡənəl) /

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 Forms

orthogonally, 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