Quaternion

Quaternion
Quaternion Qua*ter"ni*on, n. [L. quaternio, fr. quaterni four each. See {Quaternary}.] 1. The number four. [Poetic] [1913 Webster]

2. A set of four parts, things, or person; four things taken collectively; a group of four words, phrases, circumstances, facts, or the like. [1913 Webster]

Delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers. --Acts xii. 4. [1913 Webster]

Ye elements, the eldest birth Of Nature's womb, that in quaternion run. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

The triads and quaternions with which he loaded his sentences. -- Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

3. A word of four syllables; a quadrisyllable. [1913 Webster]

4. (Math.) The quotient of two vectors, or of two directed right lines in space, considered as depending on four geometrical elements, and as expressible by an algebraic symbol of quadrinomial form. [1913 Webster]

Note: The science or calculus of quaternions is a new mathematical method, in which the conception of a quaternion is unfolded and symbolically expressed, and is applied to various classes of algebraical, geometrical, and physical questions, so as to discover theorems, and to arrive at the solution of problems. --Sir W. R. Hamilton. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • quaternion — [ kwatɛrnjɔ̃ ] n. m. • 1862; angl. 1843; bas lat. quaternio « groupe de quatre » ♦ Math. Nombre complexe qui est constitué par quatre nombres scalaires (s, a, b, c) pris dans un ordre déterminé, et combinés selon certaines lois. ● quaternion nom… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Quaternion — Qua*ter ni*on, v. t. To divide into quaternions, files, or companies. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • quaternion — [kwə tʉr′nē ən, kwätʉr′nē ən] n. [ME < LL quaternio < L quaterni: see QUATERNARY] 1. a set of four 2. Math. an expression that is the sum of four terms, one of which is real and three of which contain imaginary units, and that can be… …   English World dictionary

  • Quaternion — Quaternions, in mathematics, are a non commutative extension of complex numbers. They were first described by the Irish mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamilton in 1843 and applied to mechanics in three dimensional space. They find uses in both… …   Wikipedia

  • Quaternion — Plaque commémorative de la naissance des quaternions sur le pont de Broom (Dublin). « Ici, le 16 octobre 1843, alors qu il se promenait, Sir William Rowan Hamilton découvrit dans un éclair de génie la formule fondamentale sur la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Quaternion — ℍ Gedenktafel an der Broom Bridge in Dublin, wo William Rowan Hamilton die Multiplikationsregeln im Oktober 1843 spontan in den Stein ritzte. Die Quaternio …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Quaternion —    A band of four soldiers. Peter was committed by Herod to the custody of four quaternions, i.e., one quaternion for each watch of the night (Acts 12:4). Thus every precaution was taken against his escape from prison. Two of each quaternion were …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • quaternion — noun Etymology: Middle English quaternyoun, from Late Latin quaternion , quaternio, from Latin quaterni four each, from quater four times; akin to Latin quattuor four more at four Date: 14th century 1. a set of four parts, things, or persons 2. a …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • quaternion — /kweuh terr nee euhn/, n. 1. a group or set of four persons or things. 2. Bookbinding. four gathered sheets folded in two for binding together. 3. Math. a. an expression of the form a + bi + cj + dk, where a, b, c, and d are real numbers; i2 = j2 …   Universalium

  • quaternion — noun /kwɒˈtɜːniɒn/ a) A group or set of four people or things.<ref name= COED etym sense /> 1885, Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson (original translators and editors), Arthur Cleveland Coxe (editor of American edition, unauthorized; author …   Wiktionary

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