orthogonal

Meaning

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Of two objects, at right angles; perpendicular to each other.
2. (not-comparable) Of a pair of vectors: having a zero inner product; perpendicular.
3. (not-comparable) Of a square matrix: such that its transpose is equal to its inverse.
4. (not-comparable) Of a linear transformation: preserving its angles.
5. (not-comparable) Of grid graphs, board games and polyominoes: vertical or horizontal but not diagonal.
6. (not-comparable) Of a pair of elements in an ortholattice: each less than or equal to the orthocomplement of the other.
7. (not-comparable) Statistically independent, with reference to variates.
8. (not-comparable) Of two or more aspects of a problem, able to be treated separately; of a design, exhibiting consistency and composability.
9. (not-comparable) Of two or more problems or subjects, independent of or irrelevant to each other.

Noun

An orthogonal line.

Synonyms

rectangular

perpendicular

right-angled

extraneous

right

immaterial

impertinent

normal

rectangle

orthogonality

orthogon

right angle

right-angle

knee

vertical angle

cross-cut

quadrature component

orthometric

orthogonal intersection

rigging angle

rectangular figure

orthorhombic

squarelike

perpendicularity

Translations

orthogonal

orthogonal

loodrecht

ortogonal

ortogonale

perpendiculaire

senkrecht

perpendikular

rechtwinklig

orthogonaal

ορθογώνιος

ortogonal

ortogonal

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɔːˈθɒɡ.ə.nəl/

Etymology

From Middle French orthogonal, in turn from Medieval Latin orthogōnālis and Latin orthogōnius (“right-angled”), ultimately from Ancient Greek ὀρθογώνιος (orthogṓnios, “rectangular”). By surface analysis, ortho- + -gon + -al.