orthogonal adjective. [ɔ:'Ɵɒg(ǝ)n(ǝ)l] L16.
[medieval Latin orthogonalis, from late Latin orthogonus right-angled: see -AL¹.]
1. Geometry. Pertaining to or involving right angles, at right angles; right-angled; rectangular. L16.
orthogonal projection: in which the rays are at right angles to the plane of projection.

2. Math. (Of a linear transformation) preserving lengths and angles; (of two vectors or functions) having a scalar product equal to zero; (of a square matrix) representing an orthogonal transformation, and hence equal to the inverse of its transpose. M19.

3. Statistics. (Of variates) statistically independent; (of an experiment) having variates which can be treated as statistically independent. M20.

■ orthogo'nality noun L19.

■ orthogonali'zation noun (Math.) the action or process of orthogonalizing E20.

■ orthogonalize verb trans. (Math.) make orthogonal; freq. spec. = ORTHONORMALIZE: M20.

■ orthogonally adverb in an orthogonal manner; at right angles: L16.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲