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definitions

principal diagonal

noun
  1. Mathematics. See under diagonal(def 9).

Origin of principal diagonal

First recorded in 1960–65

diagonal

[dahy-ag-uh-nl, -ag-nl]
adjective
  1. Mathematics.
    1. connecting two nonadjacent angles or vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, as a straight line.
    2. extending from one edge of a solid figure to an opposite edge, as a plane.
  2. having an oblique direction.
  3. having oblique lines, ridges, markings, etc.
noun
  1. a diagonal line or plane.
  2. virgule.
  3. a diagonal row, part, pattern, etc.
  4. Manège. (of a horse at a trot) the foreleg and the hind leg, diagonally opposite, which move forward simultaneously.
  5. diagonal cloth.
  6. Mathematics. a set of entries in a square matrix running either from upper left to lower right (main diagonal or principal diagonal) or lower left to upper right (secondary diagonal).
  7. Chess. one of the oblique lines of squares on a chessboard: He advanced his bishop along the open diagonal.

Origin of diagonal

1535–45; < Latin diagōnālis < Greek diagṓn(ios) from angle to angle (see dia-, -gon) + Latin -ālis -al1
Related formsdi·ag·o·nal·ly, adverbnon·di·ag·o·nal, adjective, nounnon·di·ag·o·nal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for principal diagonal

diagonal

adjective
  1. maths connecting any two vertices that in a polygon are not adjacent and in a polyhedron are not in the same face
  2. slanting; oblique
  3. marked with slanting lines or patterns
noun
  1. maths a diagonal line or plane
  2. chess any oblique row of squares of the same colour
  3. cloth marked or woven with slanting lines or patterns
  4. something put, set, or drawn obliquely
  5. another name for solidus (def. 1)
  6. one front leg and the hind leg on the opposite side of a horse, which are on the ground together when the horse is trotting
Derived Formsdiagonally, adverb

Word Origin for diagonal

C16: from Latin diagōnālis, from Greek diagōnios, from dia- + gōnia angle
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 principal diagonal

diagonal

adj.

1540s (implied in diagonally), from Middle French diagonal, from Latin diagonalis, from diagonus "slanting line," from Greek diagonios "from angle to angle," from dia- "across" (see dia-) + gonia "angle," related to gony "knee" (see knee (n.)). As a noun, from 1570s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
principal diagonal in Science

diagonal

[dī-ăg′ə-nəl]
Adjective
  1. Connecting two nonadjacent corners in a polygon or two nonadjacent corners in a polyhedron that do not lie in the same face.
Noun
  1. A diagonal line segment.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.