vector English · revision 10634

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1704|origins=la vector}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈvek.tə/, US /ˈvek.tɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|vector|t=one who carries or conveys, a carrier, rider]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) an agent noun from vect-, the past participle stem of vehere, to carry (see [[vehicle]] and [[weigh]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In astronomy, the line joining a fixed point (the sun) to a moving one (a planet): 1704.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The mathematical sense, a quantity with direction as well as magnitude, is first recorded in 1846,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and an ordered set of numbers from 1873.^(OED 1989) In medicine and biology, an organism such as a mosquito that carries a disease is from 1922, close to the Latin sense “carrier”.^(OED 1989) A course given to an aircraft is from 1941,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) and the computing sense from 1961.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1704 – an astronomical line.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1846 – a quantity with direction.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1922 – a carrier of disease.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – an aircraft's course.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1961 – in computing.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mathematics, physics)'' A quantity, such as [[velocity]] or [[force]], that has both [[magnitude]] and direction.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An organism, such as a [[mosquito]] or tick, that carries a disease from one host to another.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A one-dimensional array of numbers.^(AHD)

+ # A course given to an aircraft.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To guide an aircraft by radio along a given course.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vectorial]]

+ * [[vectorially]]

+ * [[vectorcardiogram]]

+ * [[vectorcardiography]]

+ * [[characteristic vector]]

+ * [[intermediate vector boson]]

+ * [[radius vector]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vehicle]]

+ * [[convection]]

+ * [[weigh]]

+ * [[way]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}