orthogonal

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adjective or·thog·o·nal \ȯr-ˈthä-gə-n^əl\

Definition of orthogonal

1a : intersecting or lying at right angles In orthogonal cutting, the cutting edge is perpendicular to the direction of tool travel.b : having perpendicular slopes or tangents at the point of intersection orthogonal curves
2 : having a sum of products or an integral (see ¹integral 1b) that is zero or sometimes one under specified conditions: such asa of real-valued functions : having the integral of the product of each pair of functions over a specific interval equal to zerob of vectors : having the scalar product equal to zeroc of a square matrix : having the sum of products of corresponding elements in any two rows or any two columns equal to one if the rows or columns are the same and equal to zero otherwise : having a transpose with which the product equals the identity matrix
3 of a linear transformation : having a matrix (see matrix 5a) that is orthogonal : preserving length and distance
4 : composed of mutually orthogonal elements an orthogonal basis of a vector space
5 : statistically independent mental ability may be classified into several orthogonal … factors — O. D. Duncan

play \ȯr-ˌthä-gə-ˈna-lə-tē\ noun

play \ȯr-ˈthä-gə-n^əl-ē\ adverb

Middle French, from Latin orthogonius, from Greek orthogōnios, from orth- + gōnia angle — more at -gon

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First Known Use: circa 1560

See Words from the same year

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adjective or·thog·o·nal \ȯr-ˈthäg-ən-^əl\

1a: lying or intersecting at right anglesb: being, using, or made with three ECG leads whose axes are perpendicular to each other and to the frontal, horizontal, and sagittal axes of the body the three orthogonal leads were recorded simultaneously on magnetic tape—Massoud Nemati et al
2: statistically independent mental ability may be classified into several orthogonal…factors—O. D. Duncan