Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spectrum

/ˈspɛktɹəm/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.26 in modern English

Syllables: spec-trum
IPA: /ˈspɛktɹəm/

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A range; a continuous, infinite, one-dimensional set, possibly bounded by extremes.

noun

Specifically, a range of colours representing light (electromagnetic radiation) of contiguous frequencies; hence electromagnetic spectrum, visible spectrum, ultraviolet spectrum, etc.

noun

The autism spectrum.

noun

A set of frequencies that are used for radio-frequency communication; not necessarily a continuous range.

noun

The pattern of absorption or emission of radiation produced by a substance when subjected to energy (radiation, heat, electricity, etc.).

noun

The set of eigenvalues of a matrix.

noun

Of a bounded linear operator A, the set of scalar values λ such that the operator A—λI, where I denotes the identity operator, does not have a bounded inverse; intended as a generalisation of the linear algebra sense.

noun

An abstract object in mathematics created from a commutative ring R and denoted operatorname Spec(R) or operatorname SpecR and said to be the spectrum of R; useful in the study of such rings for providing a geometric object which encodes many of the properties R, and in modern geometry for generalizing the notion of an algebraic variety to that of an affine scheme. Formally, the set of all prime ideals R equipped with the Zariski topology and augmented with a sheaf of rings called the structure sheaf, generated by the B-sheaf on the distinguished open sets D_f which assigns the localization of R at f to each set D_f, regarded as a ring of functions on D_f. See Spectrum of a ring on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Example Sentences

"Near-synonyms: sliding scale, continuum"
"As Mr. Obama prepared to take the oath, his approval rating touched a remarkable 70 percent in some polling — a reflection of good will across the political spectrum."
"Current 3G technologies can send roughly 1 bit of data - a one or a zero - per second over each 1 Hz of spectrum that the operator owns."
"He punctuated his words with a look into my eyes that might have been read as threatening or menacing by anyone who was not on the spectrum. But I am on the spectrum, and so I stared back at him."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti Proto-Italic *spekjō Latin speciō Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Proto-Italic *-trom Latin -trum Latin spectrumbor. English spectrum From Latin spectrum (“appearance, image, apparition”), from speciō (“look at, view”). Doublet of specter. See also scope.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: spectrum

Usage

Obsolete

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Chemistry.

Inflected Forms

spectra (plural) spectrums (plural)

Derived Forms

autospectrum bispectrum cepstrum multispectrum polyspectrum pseudospectrum spectrumy subspectrum trispectrum

Phrases

absorption spectrum autism spectrum autism spectrum disorder autistic spectrum autistic spectrum disorder band spectrum Bloch spectrum broad-spectrum

Frequently Paired Words

spectral

Synonyms

sliding scale continuum eigenspectrum

Questions

How do you pronounce spectrum?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈspɛktɹəm/.
What does spectrum mean?: A range; a continuous, infinite, one-dimensional set, possibly bounded by extremes.
Where does spectrum come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce spectrum

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “spectrum”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈspɛktɹəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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