scalar

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin scālāris, adjectival form from scāla (“a flight of steps, stairs, staircase, ladder, scale”), for *scadla, from scandere (“to climb”); compare scale. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪlə(ɹ)

Adjective

scalar (not comparable)

1. (mathematics) Having magnitude but not direction.
2. (computer science) Consisting of a single value (e.g. integer or string) rather than multiple values (e.g. array).
3. Of, or relating to scale.
   • 2003, Rodney O. Fox, Computational Models for Turbulent Reacting Flows:

     However, it can be expected that 'scale-similarity' models of this form will be inadequate for describing non-equilibrium scalar fields resulting, for example, from non-equilibrium inlet flow conditions.

   • 2015, Raymond L Bryant, The International Handbook of Political Ecology, page 504:

     Scalar thickening is useful for understanding the propensity of scales to coalesce in certain times and places, or even how a particular scale provides conditions for other forms of scalar production.

4. (music) Of or pertaining to a musical scale.
5. (physics) Relating to particles with a spin (quantum angular momentum) of 0 (known as spin 0).
6. (linguistics) Pertaining to the dimension on which something is measured.
   • 2014, Salvatore Pistoia Reda, Pragmatics, Semantics and the Case of Scalar Implicatures:

     Spector (2006, 2007) suggests to derive this inference as a scalar implicature.

   • 2018, Osamu Sawada, Pragmatic Aspects of Scalar Modifiers, page 26:

     Also, the scalar meaning in both sentences is not sensitive to context, because the truth value of the sentences does not change depending on context.

   • 2019, Penka Stateva, Anne Reboul, Scalar Implicatures, page 8:

     In Mandarin Chinese, the same sentence containing a numeral-classifier phrase as a negative polarity item can be employed for two types of scalar inferences based on either the numeral or the noun.

Derived terms

• scalar boson
• scalar curl
• scalar field
• scalar function
• scalar multiplication
• scalar product
• scalar triple product
• scalar-valued

 

Translations

having magnitude

• Bulgarian: скаларен (skalaren)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 標量 / 标量 (zh) (biāoliàng)

• Czech: skalární m
• Dutch: scalair (nl)
• Esperanto: skalara
• French: scalaire (fr)
• Galician: escalar (gl)
• Georgian: სკალარი (sḳalari)
• Hungarian: skalár (hu)
• Japanese: スカラー (ja) (sukarā)
• Korean: 스칼라 (seukalla)
• Polish: skalarny m
• Portuguese: escalar (pt)
• Romanian: scalar (ro)
• Russian: скаля́рный (ru) (skaljárnyj)
• Spanish: escalar (es)
• Swedish: skalär (sv)
• Tagalog: bilangin (tl)
• Turkish: sayıl (tr)
• Vietnamese: vô hướng

relating to scale

• French: scalaire (fr)
• Galician: escalar (gl)
• Portuguese: escalar (pt)
• Romanian: scalar (ro)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} skalaar
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} scalare (it)
• Mandarin: traditional: ^{(please verify)} 標量 / 标量 (zh) (biāoliàng), simplified: ^{(please verify)} 标量 (zh) (biāoliàng)

See also

• nondimensional

Noun

scalar (plural scalars)

1. (mathematics) A quantity that has magnitude but not direction; compare vector.
2. (electronics) An amplifier whose output is a constant multiple of its input.

Coordinate terms

• vector

Derived terms

• pseudoscalar

Translations

quantity with magnitude

• Basque: eskalar
• Bulgarian: скалар m (skalar)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 标量 (zh) (biāoliàng)

• Czech: skalár m
• Danish: skalar c
• Dutch: scalar m
• Esperanto: skalaro
• French: scalaire (fr) m
• Galician: escalar (gl)
• Icelandic: einvíð stærð f, tölustærð f, stigastærð f
• Japanese: スカラー (ja) (sukaraa)
• Polish: skalar (pl) m
• Portuguese: escalar (pt) f
• Russian: скаля́р (ru) m (skaljár)
• Spanish: escalar (es) m
• Swedish: skalär (sv) c
• Vietnamese: đại lượng vô hướng

(electronics) amplifier

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} scalare (it) m

Anagrams

• Claars, Rascal, craals, lascar, rascal, sacral, sarlac

Dutch

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskaː.lɑr/
• Hyphenation: sca‧lar

Noun

scalar m (plural scalars or scalaren)

1. scalar (quantity with only magnitude)

Related terms

• scalair

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French scalaire, German Scalar, Latin scalaris.

Adjective

scalar m or n (feminine singular scalară, masculine plural scalari, feminine and neuter plural scalare)

1. scalar

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	scalar		scalară		scalari	scalare
	definite	scalarul		scalara		scalarii	scalarele
genitive- dative	indefinite	scalar		scalare		scalari	scalare
	definite	scalarului		scalarei		scalarelor	scalarilor

Noun

scalar n (plural scalare)

1. scalar

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	scalar	scalarul		scalare	scalarele
genitive-dative	scalar	scalarului		scalare	scalarelor
vocative	scalarule			scalarelor

References

• scalar in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)