Hypertext Webster Gateway: "vector"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Vector \Vec"tor\, n. [L., a bearer, carrier. fr. vehere, vectum,
to carry.]
1. Same as {Radius vector}.
2. (Math.) A directed quantity, as a straight line, a force,
or a velocity. Vectors are said to be equal when their
directions are the same their magnitudes equal. Cf.
{Scalar}.
Note: In a triangle, either side is the vector sum of the
other two sides taken in proper order; the process
finding the vector sum of two or more vectors is vector
addition (see under {Addition}).
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
vector
n 1: a variable quantity that can be resolved into components
2: a straight line segment whose length is magnitude and whose
orientation in space is direction
3: any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries
and transmits a disease; "mosquitos are vectors of malaria
and yellow fever"; "fleas are vectors of the plague";
"aphids are transmitters of plant diseases" [syn: {transmitter}]
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