Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

imaginary number

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.78 in modern English

Syllables
imag-i-nary num-ber
IPA
25
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A number of the form bi, where b is any real number and i denotes the imaginary unit.

noun

A number of the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and b is nonzero.

Example Sentences

Etymology

The adjective imaginary in this context was first used (as French imaginaire) by René Descartes in 1673, La Geometrie, referring to imaginary numbers in the broad sense, as non-real roots of polynomials. Descartes' usage was derogatory, but the concept later gained acceptance through the work of Leonhard Euler and Carl Friedrich Gauss in the 18th century.

Inflected Forms

imaginary numbers (plural)

Phrases

complex number real number

Frequently Paired Words

complex number real number

Synonyms

purely imaginary number complex number complex quantity imaginary

Questions

What does imaginary number mean?
A number of the form bi, where b is any real number and i denotes the imaginary unit.
Where does imaginary number come from?
The adjective imaginary in this context was first used (as French imaginaire) by René Descartes in 1673, La Geometrie, referring to imaginary numbers in the broad sense, as non-real roots of polynomials. Descartes' usage was derogatory, but the concept later gained acceptance through the work of Leonhard Euler and Carl Friedrich Gauss in the 18th century.

How to pronounce imaginary number

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “imaginary number”.
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