spectrum

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Latin spectrum (“appearance, image, apparition”), from speciō (“look at, view”). (see scope)

Pronunciation

• (Canada, UK) IPA: /ˈspektrəm/
• (unknown) IPA: /ˈspɛktrəm/, SAMPA: /"spEktr@m/
• Rhymes: -ɛktrəm

Noun

spectrum (plural spectra or spectrums)

1. Specter, apparition. [from early 17th c.]
2. A range; a continuous, infinite, one-dimensional set, possibly bounded by extremes.
3. Specifically, a range of colours representing light (electromagnetic radiation) of contiguous frequencies; hence electromagnetic spectrum, visible spectrum, ultraviolet spectrum, etc. [from later 17th c.]
   • 2010 October 30, Jim Giles, Jammed!, in New Scientist,

     Current 3G technologies can send roughly 1 bit of data - a one or a zero - per second over each 1 Hz of spectrum that the operator owns.

4. (chemistry) The pattern of absorption or emission of radiation produced by a substance when subjected to energy (radiation, heat, electricity, etc.).
5. (mathematics, linear algebra) The set of eigenvalues of a matrix.
6. (mathematics, functional analysis) Of a bounded linear operator A, the set of scalar values λ such that the operator A—λI, where I denotes the identity operator, does not have a bounded inverse; intended as a generalisation of the linear algebra sense.

Derived terms

• light spectrum
• spectrum disorder

Related terms

• spectral

Translations

range

Finnish: kirjo (fi) French: spectre (fr) m. Italian: spettro (it)

Japanese: スペクトル (ja) (supekutoru) Romanian: spectru (ro) n. Russian: спектр (ru) (sp'ektr) m., диапазон (ru) (diapazón) m.

range of colors

Catalan: espectre (ca) m. Czech: spektrum (cs) n. Finnish: kirjo (fi) French: spectre (fr) m. Hebrew: ספקטרום (he) (spéktrum) Italian: spettro (it)

Japanese: スペクトル (ja) (supekutoru), 分光特性 (ja) (bunkō tokusē) Persian: طیف (fa) Romanian: spectru (ro) n. Russian: спектр (ru) (sp'ektr) m. Spanish: espectro (es) m. Volapük: späktrum (vo), kölaspäktrum (vo)

chemistry: a pattern of absorption or emission of radiation

Finnish: spektri (fi) French: spectre (fr) m.

German: Spektrum (de) n. Japanese: スペクトル (ja) (supekutoru)

linear algebra: set of scalar values

Finnish: spektri (fi) French: spectre (fr) m. Italian: spettro (it)

Japanese: スペクトル (ja) (supekutoru) Romanian: spectru (ro) n. Russian: спектр (ru)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Bulgarian: спекър m. (1, 2) German: Spektrum n. (1, 2, 3)

Polish: spektrum n. (1), widmo n. (2) Swedish: spektrum n. (2, 3) Mandarin: trad. 光譜, simpl. 光谱 (2) Cantonese: gwong1pou2 Mandarin: guāngpǔ

Anagrams

• cepstrum, crumpets

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Latin

Etymology

From speciō (“look at, behold”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /ˈspek.trum/

Noun

spectrum (genitive spectrī); n, second declension

1. appearance, image
2. apparition, specter

Inflection

Number	Singular	Plural
nominative	spectrum	spectra
genitive	spectrī	spectrōrum
dative	spectrō	spectrīs
accusative	spectrum	spectra
ablative	spectrō	spectrīs
vocative	spectrum	spectra

Related terms

• speciō
• spectiō
• spectō

Descendants

• English: spectrum
• Italian: spettro
• Romanian: spectru