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Magnitude

 - 4 dictionary results

mag⋅ni⋅tude

  [mag-ni-tood, -tyood]
Use Magnitude in a Sentence
–noun
1. size; extent; dimensions: to determine the magnitude of an angle.
2. great importance or consequence: affairs of magnitude.
3. greatness of size or amount.
4. moral greatness: magnitude of mind.
5. Astronomy.
a. Also called visual magnitude, apparent magnitude. the brightness of a star or other celestial body as viewed by the unaided eye and expressed by a mathematical ratio of 2.512: a star of the first magnitude is approximately 2 1/2 times as bright as one of the second magnitude and 100 times brighter than one of the sixth magnitude. Only stars of the sixth magnitude or brighter can be seen with the unaided eye.
b. absolute magnitude.
6. Mathematics. a number characteristic of a quantity and forming a basis for comparison with similar quantities, as length.
—Idiom
7. of the first magnitude, of utmost or major importance: an artist of the first magnitude.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L magnitūdō. See magni-, -tude

Related forms:
mag⋅ni⋅tu⋅di⋅nous  [mag-ni-tood-n-uhs, -tyood-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Magnitude
mag·ni·tude   (māg'nĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd')   
n.  

    1. Greatness of rank or position: "such duties as were expected of a landowner of his magnitude" (Anthony Powell).

    2. Greatness in size or extent: The magnitude of the flood was impossible to comprehend.

    3. Greatness in significance or influence: was shocked by the magnitude of the crisis.

    4. A number assigned to a quantity so that it may be compared with other quantities.

    5. A property that can be described by a real number, such as the volume of a sphere or the length of a vector.

  2. Astronomy The degree of brightness of a celestial body designated on a numerical scale, on which the brightest star has magnitude -1.4 and the faintest visible star has magnitude 6, with the scale rule such that a decrease of one unit represents an increase in apparent brightness by a factor of 2.512. Also called apparent magnitude.

  3. Mathematics

    1. A number assigned to a quantity so that it may be compared with other quantities.

    2. A property that can be described by a real number, such as the volume of a sphere or the length of a vector.

  4. Geology A measure of the amount of energy released by an earthquake, as indicated on the Richter Scale.


[Middle English, from Old French, size, from Latin magnitūdō, greatness, size, from magnus, great; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

magnitude 
1398, from L. magnitudo "greatness, bulk, size," from magnus "great" (see magnate) + -tudo, suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives and participles.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mag·ni·tude
Pronunciation: 'mag-n&-"t(y)üd
Function: noun
: relative size or extent
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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