Pythagorean
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to Pythagoras
-
denoting the diatonic scale of eight notes arrived at by Pythagoras and based on a succession of fifths
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Pythagorean
1540–50; < Latin Pȳthagorē ( us ) (< Greek Pȳthagóreios of Pythagoras) + -an
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Overhead, a stylized starry sky—gold against deep blue—illustrates the Pythagorean idea of the music of the spheres.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
Loomis believed that if you used these functions in a proof of the Pythagorean theorem, you would have assumed the theorem to begin with—a circular argument and thus an unforgivable mathematical error.
From Scientific American • Apr. 10, 2023
“Yeah, Pythagorean theorem,” Kelly cracked when asked what he had learned from his players.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2022
That formula is known as the Pythagorean Winning Percentage.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2022
This concept was the first challenge to the Pythagorean point of view, and the brotherhood tried to keep it secret.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
