orthogonal

Where “orthogonal” sits in English frequency

Definition

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

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.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: orhtogonal,orrthogonal,orthgoonal,orthhogonal,orthoggonal,orthognoal,orthogoanl,orthogonall,orthogonla,orthogonnal,orthoognal,ortohgonal,ortthogonal,otrhogonal,rothogonal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of orthogonal - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Frequently Asked Questions