scalar
[skey-ler]
- representable by position on a scale or line; having only magnitude: a scalar variable.
- of, relating to, or utilizing a scalar.
- ladderlike in arrangement or organization; graduated: a scalar structure for promoting personnel.
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- Mathematics, Physics. a quantity possessing only magnitude.Compare vector(def 1a).
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Origin of scalar
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
scalar
- a quantity, such as time or temperature, that has magnitude but not directionCompare vector (def. 1), tensor (def. 2), pseudoscalar, pseudovector
- maths an element of a field associated with a vector space
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- having magnitude but not direction
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Word Origin for scalar
C17 (meaning: resembling a ladder): from Latin scālāris, from scāla ladder
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for scalar
"resembling a ladder," 1650s, from Latin scalaris "of or pertaining to a ladder," from scalae (plural) "ladder, steps, flight of steps" (see scale (n.2)). Mathematical sense first recorded 1846.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
scalar
[skā′lər]
- A quantity, such as mass, length, or speed, whose only property is magnitude; a number. Compare vector.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.