vector

Definition

A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin vector (“carrier, transporter”), from vehō (“I carry, I transport, I bear”), also ultimately the root of English vehicle. The “person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme” sense derives from the disease sense. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

Example Sentences

• "Velocity is a vector defined by the speed of an object and its direction."
• "As examples of vector quantities may be mentioned the distance between any two given points, a velocity, a force, an acceleration, angular velocity, intensity of magnetization flux of heat."
• "I was told to fly out on a vector of 100 degrees to meet a strong plot of aircraft 30 miles from the coast."