# order of magnitude

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The class of scale or magnitude of any amount, where each class contains values of a fixed ratio (most often 10) to the class preceding it.

## Etymology
18th century, in the sense "magnitude (brightness class) of a star", informed by the Greek τῶν μεγάλων τάξις (tôn megálōn táxis) (Ptolemy).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/order-of-magnitude