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scalars

 - 3 dictionary results

sca⋅lar

  [skey-ler]
Use scalars in a Sentence
–adjective
1. representable by position on a scale or line; having only magnitude: a scalar variable.
2. of, pertaining to, or utilizing a scalar.
3. ladderlike in arrangement or organization; graduated: a scalar structure for promoting personnel.
–noun
4. Mathematics, Physics. a quantity possessing only magnitude. Compare vector (def. 1a).
Origin:
1650–60; < L scālāris of a ladder. See scale 3 , -ar 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scalars
sca·lar   (skā'lər, -lär')   
n.  

    1. A quantity, such as mass, length, or speed, that is completely specified by its magnitude and has no direction.

    2. Mathematics A number, numerical quantity, or element in a field.

  2. A device that yields an output equal to the input multiplied by a constant, as in a linear amplifier.

adj.  Of or relating to a scalar.

[Latin scālāris, of a ladder, from scālae, ladder; see scale2.]
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

scalar 
"resembling a ladder," 1656, from L. scalaris "of or pertaining to a ladder," from scalæ (pl.) "ladder, steps" (see scale (n.2)). Mathematical sense first recorded 1846.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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