orthogonal

Meanings

Plural: orthogonals

Adjective Satellite

not pertinent to the matter under consideration
statistically unrelated
having a set of mutually perpendicular axes; meeting at right angles
- "wind and sea may displace the ship's center of gravity along three orthogonal axes"

Adj

Of two objects, at right angles; perpendicular to each other.
Of a pair of vectors: having a zero inner product; perpendicular.
Of a square matrix: such that its transpose is equal to its inverse.
Of a linear transformation: preserving its angles.
Of grid graphs, board games and polyominoes: vertical or horizontal but not diagonal.
Of a pair of elements in an ortholattice: each less than or equal to the orthocomplement of the other.
Statistically independent, with reference to variates.
Of two or more aspects of a problem, able to be treated separately; of a design, exhibiting consistency and composability.
Of two or more problems or subjects, independent of or irrelevant to each other.

Noun

An orthogonal line.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle French orthogonal, in turn from Medieval Latin orthogōnālis and Latin orthogōnius (“right-angled”), ultimately from Ancient Greek ὀρθογώνιος (orthogṓnios, “rectangular”). By surface analysis, ortho- + -gon + -al.

Synonyms

extraneous, immaterial, impertinent, rectangular

Scrabble Score: 14

orthogonal is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
orthogonal is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
orthogonal is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

orthogonal is a valid Words With Friends word