quaternion
Meanings
Plural: quaternions
Noun
- the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
- A group or set of four people or things.
- A word of four syllables.
- A type of four-dimensional hypercomplex number consisting of a real part and three imaginary parts (real multiples of distinct, independent square roots of −1 denoted by i, j and k); commonly used in vector mathematics and as an alternative to matrix algebra in calculating the rotation of three-dimensional objects.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English quaternioun, from Late Latin quaterniō, from quaternī (“four each”) + -iō, from quater (“four times”). Doublet of kern. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1843.
Synonyms
4, four, foursome, IV, Little Joe, quadruplet, quartet, quatern, quaternary, quaternity, tetrad
Scrabble Score: 19
quaternion is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordquaternion is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
quaternion is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary