# scalar

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈskeɪ.lə/ · frequency rank #31,748

## Definitions
1. Having magnitude but not direction.
2. Consisting of a single value (e.g. integer or string) rather than multiple values (e.g. array).
3. Of, or relating to scale.
4. Of or pertaining to a musical scale.
5. Relating to particles with a spin (quantum angular momentum) of 0 (known as spin 0).
6. Pertaining to the dimension on which something is measured.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin scālāris, adjectival form from scāla (“a flight of steps, stairs, staircase, ladder, scale”), for *scadla, from scandere (“to climb”); compare scale. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

## Easily confused with
- **scar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scar)
- **scale** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scale)
- **solar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-solar)
- **scalp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scalp)
- **scaly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scaly)
- **scales** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scales)
- **scaled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scaled)
- **Scalia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scalia)
- **Skylar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-skylar)
- **scarab** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scarab)
- **sealer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-sealer)
- **scholar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-scholar)
- **secular** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scalar-vs-secular)
- **sala** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sala-vs-scalar)
- **salad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/salad-vs-scalar)
- **salah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/salah-vs-scalar)
- **Salam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/salam-vs-scalar)
- **scala** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scala-vs-scalar)
- **Samar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/samar-vs-scalar)
- **Salas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/salas-vs-scalar)

## Common misspellings (9)
`csalar`, `saclar`, `scaalr`, `scalarr`, `scallar`, `scalra`, `sccalar`, `sclaar`, `sscalar`

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