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Added 9 October 2026

vector

/ˈvɛktə/ noun

Latin root: vector Coined: 1846, by William Rowan Hamilton Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about vector at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A variable quantity that can be resolved into components.
A straight line segment whose length is magnitude and whose orientation in space is direction.
Any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease.
mosquitos are vectors of malaria and yellow fever

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin vector (“carrier, transporter”), from vehō (“to carry, transport, bear”), also ultimately the root of English vehicle. The “person or entity that passes along an urban legend or other meme” sense derives from the disease sense. The mathematics sense was coined by Irish mathematician and astronomer William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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