Definition of orthogonal

Email this page to a friend

< orthogenesis

orthogonal projection >

or·thog·o·nal    (ôr-thg-nl) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:

1. Relating to or composed of right angles.
2. Mathematics
   1. Of or relating to a matrix whose transpose equals its inverse.
   2. Of or relating to a linear transformation that preserves the length of vectors.

---

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek orthognios : ortho-, ortho- + gni, angle; see genu-¹ in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
or·thogo·nali·ty  (-nl-t) KEY (Noun), or·thogo·nal·ly(Adverb)