of a square matrix: having the sum of products of corresponding elements in any two rows or any two columns equal to one if the rows or columns are the same and equal to zero otherwise : having a transpose with which the product equals the identity matrix
3
of a linear transformation: having a matrix (see matrixsense 5a) that is orthogonal : preserving length and distance
4
: composed of mutually orthogonal elements
an orthogonal basis of a vector space
5
: statistically independent
mental ability may be classified into several orthogonal … factors O. D. Duncan
Recent Examples on the WebIn these two books, two members of ’80s and ’90s ACT UP New York, the grassroots AIDS advocacy group, write completely orthogonal works about the same time and movement. Joseph Osmundson, The Atlantic, 8 June 2022 This direction favors subsequent hydraulic fractures being orthogonal to the well. Ian Palmer, Forbes, 19 May 2022 Our approach is orthogonal to existing work that focuses on improving hardware and software efficiency. Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2022 Wi-Fi 6 improves MU-MIMO and introduces OFDMA (orthogonal frequency-division multiple access) enabling a single transmission to deliver data to multiple devices at once. Simon Hill, Wired, 31 Jan. 2022 But anything that conducts an electric field also conducts a magnetic field in the orthogonal direction. James Conca, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021 Each of those diverse ideas is loaded with preconceived notions, biases, tangential or orthogonal associations. Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 Shoup’s own project, called SuperPaint, was orthogonal to that effort, and not universally blessed. Steven Levy, Wired, 31 Aug. 2021 Relativity, a lithograph print by the Dutch artist M.C. Escher, portrays a world with three orthogonal sources of gravity, in which people climb and descend stairwells that seem to go uphill both ways. Stephen Macknik, Scientific American, 1 May 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle French, from Latin orthogonius, from Greek orthogōnios, from orth- + gōnia angle — more at -gon