quaternion

[ kwuh-tur-nee-uhn ]

See synonyms for quaternion on Thesaurus.com

noun

a group or set of four persons or things.
Bookbinding. four gathered sheets folded in two for binding together.

Mathematics.
- an expression of the form a + bi + cj + dk, where a,b,c, and d are real numbers; i2 = j2 = k2 = −1; and ij = −ji = k, jk = −kj = i, and ki = −ik = j.
- a quantity or operator expressed as the sum of a real number and three complex numbers, equivalent to the quotient of two vectors. The field of quaternions is not commutative under multiplication.

Origin of quaternion

1350–1400; Middle English quaternioun<Late Latin quaterniōn- (stem of quaterniō), equivalent to Latin quatern(ī) four at a time + -iōn--ion

Words Nearby quaternion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use quaternion in a sentence

Of course, each player also does his best to stop his opponent from forming his quaternion or file of four.
Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do | Anonymous
Keep forming threes as long as you can so as to force your opponent to stop the threatened quaternion.
Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do | Anonymous
His days are thus described: from dawn to the third hour he copied rapidly, filling a (quaternion) each day.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II) | Henry Osborn Taylor
Even then the captain of the gate was replying to a question from the quaternion.
Ulric the Jarl | William O. Stoddard
Should neither player be able to form a quaternion, then the game is drawn.
Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do | Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for quaternion

quaternion

/ (kwəˈtɜːnɪən) /

noun

maths a generalized complex number consisting of four components, x = x 0 + x 1 i + x 2 j + x 3 k, where x, x 0 … x 3 are real numbers and i² = j² = k² = –1, ij = –ji = k, etc
another word for quaternary (def. 5)

Origin of quaternion

C14: from Late Latin quaterniōn, from Latin quaternī four at a time

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

Scientific definitions for quaternion

quaternion

[ kwə-tûr′nē-ən ]

Any number of the form a + bi + cj + dk where a, b, c, and d are real numbers, ij = k, i2 = j2 = -1, and ij = -ji. Under addition and multiplication, quaternions have all the properties of a field, except that multiplication is not commutative.

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