# orthogonal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɔːˈθɒɡ.ə.nəl/ · frequency rank #29,772

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

## Common misspellings (15)
`orhtogonal`, `orrthogonal`, `orthgoonal`, `orthhogonal`, `orthoggonal`, `orthognoal`, `orthogoanl`, `orthogonall`, `orthogonla`, `orthogonnal`, `orthoognal`, `ortohgonal`, `ortthogonal`, `otrhogonal`, `rothogonal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/orthogonal