vector

English Online Dictionary. What means vector‎? What does vector mean?

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vector (“carrier, transporter”), from vehō (“I carry, I transport, I bear”), also ultimately the root of English vehicle.

The “person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme” sense derives from the disease sense.

The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: vec‧tor
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈvɛktə/
• (US) enPR: vĕk'tər, IPA^(key): /ˈvɛktɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɛktə(ɹ)

Noun

vector (plural vectors)

2. (mathematics, physics) A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.

   Hypernym: tensor
3. (mathematics, computing) An ordered tuple, originally one representing a directed quantity, but by extension any one-dimensional matrix.

   Hypernym: matrix
4. (mathematics) Any member of a (generalized) vector space.

5. (aviation) A chosen course or direction for motion, as of an aircraft.
7. (epidemiology) A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
8. (sociology) A person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme.
9. (psychology) A recurring psychosocial issue that stimulates growth and development in the personality.
10. The way in which the eyes are drawn across the visual text. The trail that a book cover can encourage the eyes to follow from certain objects to others.(Can we add an example for this sense?)
11. (computing, operating systems) A memory address containing the address of a code entry point, usually one which is part of a table and often one that is dereferenced and jumped to during the execution of an interrupt.
12. (programming) A kind of dynamically resizable array.
13. (computer graphics, attributive) A graphical representation using outlines; vector graphics.

    Coordinate term: raster

14. (molecular biology) A DNA molecule used to carry genetic information from one organism into another.
15. (figurative) Forces, developments, phenomena, processes, systems, etc. which influence the trajectory of history (e.g. imperialism)

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

vector (third-person singular simple present vectors, present participle vectoring, simple past and past participle vectored)

1. To set (particularly an aircraft) on a course toward a selected point.
2. (computing) To redirect to a vector, or code entry point.

Derived terms

• thrust vectoring

Translations

References

• The New Oxford Dictionary of English

Anagrams

• Covert, corvet, covert

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vectōrem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [bəkˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [vəkˈto]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [vekˈtoɾ]

Noun

vector m (plural vectors)

1. vector

Derived terms

• pseudovector
• vectorial

Further reading

• “vector” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Dutch

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vector.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛk.tɔr/
• Hyphenation: vec‧tor
• Rhymes: -ɛktɔr

Noun

vector m (plural vectoren, diminutive vectortje n)

1. (mathematics) vector, an element of a vector space

Derived terms

Galician

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vector.

Noun

vector m (plural vectores)

1. vector

Derived terms

Latin

Etymology

From vehō (“carry, bear, convey; ride”) +‎ -tor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯ek.tor/, [ˈu̯ɛkt̪ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈvek.tor/, [ˈvɛkt̪or]

Noun

vector m (genitive vectōris, feminine vectrīx); third declension

1. bearer, carrier
2. passenger

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Related terms

• vectīgal

Descendants

Verb

vector

1. first-person singular present passive indicative of vectō

References

• “vector”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “vector”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.

Portuguese

Noun

vector m (plural vectores)

1. Pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of vetor. Still used in countries where the agreement hasn't come into effect; may occur as a sporadic misspelling.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French vecteur, Latin vector.

Noun

vector m (plural vectori)

1. vector

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vector.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beɡˈtoɾ/ [beɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: vec‧tor

Noun

vector m (plural vectores)

1. vector

Derived terms

Further reading

• “vector”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28