eigenfunction
noun
eigenfunction is a noun meaning “A function ϕ such that, for a given linear operator D, Dϕ=λϕ for some scalar λ (called an eigenvalue)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled E-I-G-E-N-F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N, and it appears about once in every 40 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of eigenfunction is eigenfunctions.
What does eigenfunction mean?
noun
- 1
A function ϕ such that, for a given linear operator D, Dϕ=λϕ for some scalar λ (called an eigenvalue).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of eigenfunction
- eigenfunctions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is eigenfunction?
Eigenfunction appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Eigenfunction in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense function:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fonction propre |
| German | Eigenfunktion |
| Portuguese | autofunção, função própria |
| Spanish | autofunción, función propia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does eigenfunction come from?
From eigen- + function.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).