Scalar
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A quantity that has magnitude but not direction; compare vector.
- 2 a variable quantity that cannot be resolved into components wordnet
- 3 An amplifier whose output is a constant multiple of its input.
- 1 Having magnitude but not direction. not-comparable
- 2 Consisting of a single value (e.g. integer or string) rather than multiple values (e.g. array). not-comparable
- 3 Of, or relating to scale. not-comparable
"However, it can be expected that 'scale-similarity' models of this form will be inadequate for describing non-equilibrium scalar fields resulting, for example, from non-equilibrium inlet flow conditions."
- 4 Of or pertaining to a musical scale. not-comparable
- 5 Relating to particles with a spin (quantum angular momentum) of 0 (known as spin 0). not-comparable
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- 6 Pertaining to the dimension on which something is measured. not-comparable
"Spector (2006, 2007) suggests to derive this inference as a scalar implicature."
- 1 of or relating to a directionless magnitude (such as mass or speed etc.) that is completely specified by its magnitude wordnet
- 2 of or relating to a musical scale wordnet
Example
More examples"Vectors need not correspond to a physical quantity; anything can be a vector space as long as vector addition and scalar multiplication is defined."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin scālāris, adjectival form from scāla (“a flight of steps, stairs, staircase, ladder, scale”), for *scadla, from scandere (“to climb”); compare scale. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.