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magnitude

 - 5 dictionary results

mag⋅ni⋅tude

  [mag-ni-tood, -tyood]
–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.
Use magnitude in a Sentence
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. 2010.
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.
Cite This Source
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.
Cite This Source
Science Dictionary
magnitude   (māg'nĭ-td')  Pronunciation Key 

  1. The degree of brightness of a star or other celestial body, measured on a logarithmic scale in which lower numbers mean greater brightness, such that a decrease of one unit represents an increase in brightness by a factor of 2.512. An object that is 5 units less than another object on the magnitude scale is 100 times more luminous. Because of refinements in measurement after the zero point was assigned, very bright objects have negative magnitudes. ◇ The brightness of a celestial body as seen from Earth is called its apparent magnitude. (When unspecified, an object's magnitude is normally assumed to be its apparent magnitude.) The dimmest stars visible to the unaided eye have apparent magnitude 6, while the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, has apparent magnitude -1.4. The full Moon and the Sun have apparent magnitudes of -12.7 and -26.8 respectively. ◇ The brightness of a celestial body computed as if viewed from a distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years) is called its absolute magnitude. Absolute magnitude measures the intrinsic brightness of a celestial object rather than how bright it appears on Earth, using the same logarithmic scale as for apparent magnitude. Sirius has an absolute magnitude of 1.5, considerably dimmer than Rigel which, though its apparent magnitude is 0.12, has an absolute magnitude of -8.1. Stars that appear dim in the night sky but have bright absolute magnitudes are much farther from Earth than stars that shine brightly at night but have relatively dim absolute magnitudes. The Sun, a star of only medium brightness, has an absolute magnitude of 4.8. ◇ The degree of total radiation emitted by a celestial body, including all infrared and ultraviolet radiation in addition to visible light, is called its bolometric magnitude. Bolometric magnitude is generally measured by applying a standard correction to an object's absolute magnitude.

  2. A measure of the total amount of energy released by an earthquake, as indicated on the Richter scale. See more at Richter scale.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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