Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- representable by position on a scale or line; having only magnitude: a scalar variable.
- of, relating to, or utilizing a scalar.
- ladderlike in arrangement or organization; graduated: a scalar structure for promoting personnel.
noun
- Mathematics, Physics. a quantity possessing only magnitude.Compare vector(def 1a).
noun
- a quantity, such as time or temperature, that has magnitude but not directionCompare vector (def. 1), tensor (def. 2), pseudoscalar, pseudovector
- maths an element of a field associated with a vector space
adjective
- having magnitude but not direction
adj.“resembling a ladder,” 1650s, from Latin scalaris “of or pertaining to a ladder,” from scalae (plural) “ladder, steps, flight of steps” (see scale (n.2)). Mathematical sense first recorded 1846.
- A quantity, such as mass, length, or speed, whose only property is magnitude; a number. Compare vector.