orthogonality
|or-tho-go-nal-i-ty|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔrθəɡəˈnælɪti/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːθəɡəˈnælɪti/
right-angled; independent (no interaction)
Etymology
'orthogonality' originates from Greek via New Latin and English formation: specifically from Greek 'ὀρθογώνιος' (orthogōnios), where 'ὀρθός' (orthos) meant 'straight' or 'right' and 'γώνια' (gōnia) meant 'angle'; the English noun-forming suffix '-ity' (from Latin '-itas') created 'orthogonality'.
'orthogonality' changed from Greek 'ὀρθογώνιος' ('orthogōnios') → Latinized/Medieval forms and later French/English technical borrowings (e.g. French 'orthogonalité') → modern English 'orthogonality'.
Initially, it meant 'right-angled' or 'having a right angle'; over time the term extended into linear algebra and analysis to mean 'having inner product zero' and later into engineering/computing to denote 'independence' or 'lack of interaction'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the property of being at right angles; perpendicularity (in geometry: two lines, planes, or vectors meeting at a right angle).
Orthogonality between two lines means they meet at a right angle.
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Noun 2
in linear algebra and functional analysis, the relationship between vectors (or functions) whose inner product (dot product) is zero; also used for matrices whose rows or columns are mutually orthogonal.
Orthogonality of a matrix's columns indicates that the columns are mutually perpendicular (often leading to numerical stability).
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Noun 3
in computing, engineering, and design, the principle that components or features operate independently so that changing one does not (or should not) affect others.
Orthogonality in an API means modifying one endpoint shouldn't have side effects on unrelated endpoints.
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Last updated: 2025/11/08 00:49