Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Quantum

Quan′tum

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Quanta
(#)
.
[L., neuter of
quantus
how great, how much. See
Quantity
,]
1.
Quantity; amount.
“Without authenticating . . . the quantum of the charges.”
Burke.
2.
(Math.)
A definite portion of a manifoldness, limited by a mark or by a boundary.
W. K. Clifford.
‖Quantum meruit
[L., as much as he merited]
(Law)
,
a count in an action grounded on a promise that the defendant would pay to the plaintiff for his service as much as he should deserve.
–
‖Quantum sufficit
, or
Quantum suff.
[L., as much suffices]
(Med.)
,
a sufficient quantity; – abbreviated
q. s.
in pharmacy.
–
‖Quantum valebat
[L., as much at it was worth]
(Law)
,
a count in an action to recover of the defendant, for goods sold, as much as they were worth.
Blackstone.

Webster 1828 Edition

Quantum

QUAN'TUM

,
Noun.
[L.] The quantity; the amount.
Quantum meruit, in law, an action grounded on a promise that the defendant would pay to the plaintiff for his service as much as he should deserve.
Quantum valebat, an action to recover of the defendant for goods sold, as much as they were worth.

Definition 2024

Quantum

Quantum

See also: quantum, quàntum, and quântum

German

Noun

Quantum n ‎(genitive Quantums, plural Quanten)

  1. quantum

Synonyms

quantum

quantum

See also: Quantum, quàntum, and quântum

English

Noun

quantum ‎(plural quanta)

  1. (now chiefly South Asia) The total amount of something; quantity. [from 17th c.]
    • Burke
      without authenticating […] the quantum of the charges
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, p. 416:
      The reader will perhaps be curious to know the quantum of this present, but we cannot satisfy his curiosity.
    • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins 2013, p. 375:
      Otherwise I will have given the lie to my maxim that whether you work eight or twenty hours, the quantum of work that gets done on a normal day is the same.
    • 2008, The Times of India, 21 May 2008, :
      The Congress's core ministerial panel on Friday gave its green signal to raising motor fuel prices but the quantum of increase emerged as a hitch.
  2. The amount or quantity observably present, or available. [from 18th c.]
    • 1979, John Le Carré, Smiley's People, Folio Society 2010, p. 96:
      Each man has only a quantum of compassion, he argued, and mine is used up for the day.
    • 1999, Joyce Crick, translating Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Oxford 2008, p. 34:
      The dream of flying, according to Strümpell, is the appropriate image used by the psyche to interpret the quantum of stimulus [transl. Reizquantum] proceeding from the rise and fall of the lungs when the cutaneous sensation of the thorax has simultaneously sunk into unconsciousness.
  3. (physics) The smallest possible, and therefore indivisible, unit of a given quantity or quantifiable phenomenon. [from 20th c.]
    • 2002, David C Cassidy et al., Understanding Physics, Birkhauser 2002, p. 602:
      The quantum of light energy was later called a photon.
  4. (mathematics) A definite portion of a manifoldness, limited by a mark or by a boundary.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of William Kingdon Clifford to this entry?)

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

quantum ‎(not comparable)

  1. Of a change, sudden or discrete, without intermediate stages.
  2. (informal) Of a change, significant.
  3. (physics) Involving quanta.
    • 2012 January 1, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 86:
      Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.
  4. (computing theory) Relating to a quantum computer.

Derived terms

Translations

French

Etymology

From English quantum.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɑ̃tɔm/, /kwɑ̃tɔm/

Noun

quantum m ‎(plural quanta)

  1. (physics) quantum

Italian

Noun

quantum m ‎(plural quanta)

  1. quantum

Synonyms

Latin

Pronunciation

Adjective

quantum

  1. nominative neuter singular of quantus
  2. accusative masculine singular of quantus
  3. accusative neuter singular of quantus
  4. vocative neuter singular of quantus

Determiner

quantum ‎(with genitive)

  1. as much of […] as
  2. how high, how dear, as dear as

References

Novial

Adverb

quantum

  1. (interrogative) how much
    Quantum lu kosta?
    How much does it cost?

Portuguese

Alternative forms

Noun

quantum m (plural quanta or quantuns (uncommon))

  1. (physics) quantum (indivisible unit of a given quantity)

Related terms

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin quantum, whence also German Quant.

Pronunciation

Similar Results