quaternion
[noun]
Synonyms: quartet, four, foursome, quartetto, quatuor, tetrad

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

quaternion noun. [kwǝ'tǝ:nɪǝn] Also (rare) quaternio [-ɪǝʊ], pl. -os. LME.
[Late Latin quaternio(n-), from Latin quaterni: see QUATERNARY.]
1. A group of four persons or things; spec. a set of four poems. LME.

2. A quire of four sheets of paper folded in two. E17.

3. The number four; the number ten. Cf. quaternary number s.v. QUATERNARY adjective. M17-M18.

4. Math. A complex number of the form w+xi+yj+zk, where w, x, y, z are real numbers and i, j, k are imaginary units that satisfy certain conditions. M19.

Comb.:
quaternion group Math. the group which is generated by multiplication of the unit quaternions, i, j, and k.

■ quaterni'onic adjective of or pertaining to quaternions L19.

■ quaternionist noun a student of quaternions L19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲