tensor

[ ten-ser, -sawr ]

noun
  1. Anatomy. a muscle that stretches or tightens some part of the body.

  2. Mathematics. a mathematical entity with components that change in a particular way in a transformation from one coordinate system to another.

Origin of tensor

1
1695–1705; <New Latin: stretcher, equivalent to Latin tend(ere) to stretch (see tend1) + -tor-tor, with dt>s

Other words from tensor

  • ten·so·ri·al [ten-sawr-ee-uhl, -sohr-], /tɛnˈsɔr i əl, -ˈsoʊr-/, adjective

Words Nearby tensor

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How to use tensor in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tensor

tensor

/ (ˈtɛnsə, -sɔː) /


noun
  1. anatomy any muscle that can cause a part to become firm or tense

  2. maths a set of components, functions of the coordinates of any point in space, that transform linearly between coordinate systems. For three-dimensional space there are 3 r components, where r is the rank. A tensor of zero rank is a scalar, of rank one, a vector

Origin of tensor

1
C18: from New Latin, literally: a stretcher

Derived forms of tensor

  • tensorial (tɛnˈsɔːrɪəl), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for tensor

tensor

[ tĕnsər, -sôr′ ]


  1. A structure of quantities arranged by zero or more indices, such as a scalar (zero indices), a vector (one index), or a matrix (two indices), which is invariant under transformations of coordinates.

  2. Any of various muscles that stretch or tighten a body part, as the muscle that acts to tense the soft palate, called the tensor palati.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.