scalar
/ˈskæɪ.lə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Consisting of a single value (e.g. integer or string) rather than multiple values (e.g. array).
adj
Of or pertaining to a musical scale.
adj
Pertaining to the dimension on which something is measured.
Example Sentences
- "However, it can be expected that 'scale-similarity' models of this form will be inadequate for describing non-equilibrium scalar fields resulting, for example, from non-equilibrium inlet flow conditions."
- "Scalar thickening is useful for understanding the propensity of scales to coalesce in certain times and places, or even how a particular scale provides conditions for other forms of scalar production."
- "Spector (2006, 2007) suggests to derive this inference as a scalar implicature."
- "Also, the scalar meaning in both sentences is not sensitive to context, because the truth value of the sentences does not change depending on context."
- "In Mandarin Chinese, the same sentence containing a numeral-classifier phrase as a negative polarity item can be employed for two types of scalar inferences based on either the numeral or the noun."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin scālāris, adjectival form from scāla (“a flight of steps, stairs, staircase, ladder, scale”), for *scadla, from scandere (“to climb”); compare scale. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: scālāris
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /skeɪ.lɚ/
- British English: /ˈskeɪ.lə/