velocity
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English
Etymology
From Middle French vélocité, from Latin vēlōcitās (“speed”), from vēlōx (“fast”), thus a doublet of veloce.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /vəˈlɒsəti/
- (General American) IPA(key): /vəˈlɑsəti/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɒsɪti
Noun
velocity (countable and uncountable, plural velocities)
- (physics) A vector quantity that denotes the rate of change of position with respect to time, combining speed with a directional component.
- A car racing in a circle may retain the same speed while continually changing its velocity.
- 2004, Roger Barry, Richard Chorley, Roger G. Barry, Atmosphere, Weather and Climate, page 118:
- Usually, however, confluence is associated with an increase in air velocity and diffluence with a decrease. In the intermediate case, confluence is balanced by an increase in wind velocity and diffluence by a decrease in velocity.
- Rapidity of motion.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:speed
- The train was travelling at a slower velocity than usual.
- 1997, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 39, in Mason & Dixon, 1st US edition, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, part Two: America, page 395:
- Over the winter-solid Roads, goes a great seething,— of mounted younger Gentlemen riding together by the dozens upon rented horses, Express Messengers in love with pure Velocity, Disgruntl'd Suitors with Pistols stuff'd in their Spatterdashes, seal'd Waggons not even a western Black-Boy would think of detaining.
- The rate of occurrence.
- (economics) The number of times that an average unit of currency is spent during a specific period of time.
Synonyms
- (rapidity of motion; rate of occurrence): speed
Hyponyms
- angular velocity
- escape velocity
- exhaust velocity
- first cosmic velocity
- group velocity
- hypervelocity
- information velocity
- instantaneous velocity
- muzzle velocity
- orbital velocity
- peculiar velocity
- phase velocity
- Planck velocity
- radial velocity
- second cosmic velocity
- space velocity
- supervelocity
- tangential velocity
- terminal velocity
- third cosmic velocity
- ultravelocity
Derived terms
- constant velocity
- four-velocity
- root mean square velocity
- velocimeter
- velocity curve
- velocity dispersion
- velocity potential
Translations
vector quantity
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rapidity of motion
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the rate of occurrence
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economics
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.