Main Entry:

mag·ni·tude

Pronunciation:

\ˈmag-nə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin magnitudo, from magnus

Date:

15th century

1 a: great size or extent b (1): spatial quality : size (2): quantity, number2: the importance, quality, or caliber of something3: a number representing the intrinsic or apparent brightness of a celestial body on a logarithmic scale in which an increase of one unit corresponds to a reduction in the brightness of light by a factor of 2.5124: a numerical quantitative measure expressed usually as a multiple of a standard unit5: the intensity of an earthquake represented by a number on an arbitrary scale <a magnitude six earthquake>