orthogonal

For instance, the UN*X shells will let you use ls -t and head to let you find your 10 newest files, even though I doubt any of Bourne, Ritchie and that lot thought of this specific functionality.

[ 1 0 0 0 ]  [ -2  4  0 ]  [ 3-2i 13 ]
[ 0 1 0 0 ]  [  2 -1  0 ]  [ 3+2i -1 ]
[ 0 0 1 0 ]  [  0  0  3 ]
[ 0 0 0 1 ]

orthogonal adj.

[from mathematics] Mutually independent; well separated; sometimes, irrelevant to. Used in a generalization of its mathematical meaning to describe sets of primitives or capabilities that, like a vector basis in geometry, span the entire `capability space' of the system and are in some sense non-overlapping or mutually independent. For example, in architectures such as the PDP-11 or VAX where all or nearly all registers can be used interchangeably in any role with respect to any instruction, the register set is said to be orthogonal. Or, in logic, the set of operators `not' and `or' is orthogonal, but the set `nand', `or', and `not' is not (because any one of these can be expressed in terms of the others). Also used in comments on human discourse: "This may be orthogonal to the discussion, but...."

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.

Or*thog"o*nal (?), a. [Cf. F. orthogonal.]

Right-angled; rectangular; as, an orthogonal intersection of one curve with another.

Orthogonal projection. See under Orthographic.

© Webster 1913.