quantum means of a change, sudden or discrete, without intermediate stages.
quantum is pronounced /ˈkwɒntəm/.
Why “quantum” is a great word
A discrete, indivisible packet of a physical property, such as energy, or pertaining to the theory of such packets. From Late Latin *quantum*, a noun use of the neuter form of Latin *quantus* ("how much, how great"). Unlike "quantity"—which can be any amount, flowing and continuous—or "continuum"—a smooth, unbroken whole, the quantum is the irreducible unit, the final grain in the measure. It is the specific click of a Geiger counter, the exact hue of light from an excited atom, and the fundamental leap an electron makes between orbits—a universe built not on slopes, but on stairs, where reality itself has a smallest bill and will not make change.
Etymology
From Late Latin quantum, noun use of neuter form of Latin quantus (“how much”).
adj
- Of a change, sudden or discrete, without intermediate stages.
- Of a change, significant.
- Involving quanta, quantum mechanics or other aspects of quantum physics.
- Involving quanta, quantum mechanics or other aspects of quantum physics.; Relating to a quantum computer.
noun
- The total amount of something; quantity.e.g.“The reader will perhaps be curious to know the quantum of this present, but we cannot satisfy his curiosity.”
- The total amount of something; quantity.; The amount of compensation awarded to a successful party in a lawsuit.
- The total amount of something; quantity.; The length or magnitude of the sentence handed down to someone who has been found guilty of a crime.
- The amount or quantity observably present, or available.e.g.“Each man has only a quantum of compassion, he argued, and mine is used up for the day.”
- The smallest possible, and therefore indivisible, unit of a given quantity or quantifiable phenomenon.e.g.“The quantum of light energy was later called a photon.”
- The amount of time allocated for a thread to perform its work in a multithreaded environment.
- The minimum dose of a pathogen required to cause an infection.
- Amount of goods produced or demanded.
- A definite portion of a manifoldness, limited by a mark or by a boundary.e.g.“Defined parts of a manifoldness are called Quanta”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- indivisibility 84% match — The state of being indivisible, incapable of being divided. vs quantum →
- continuum 83% match — A continuous series or whole, no part of which is noticeably different from its adjacent parts, although the ends or extremes of it are very different from each other. vs quantum →
- universe 83% match — The sum of everything that exists in the cosmos. vs quantum →
- monad 83% match — One thing, one being, one item. vs quantum →
- finite 83% match — Having an end or limit; (of a quantity) constrained by bounds; (of a set) whose number of elements is a natural number. vs quantum →
- qubit 82% match — A quantum bit; the basic unit of quantum information described by a superposition of two states; a quantum bit in a quantum computer capable of being in a state of superposition; A binary qudit. vs quantum →
- infinity 82% match — endlessness, unlimitedness, absence of a beginning, end or limits to size. vs quantum →
- wavicle 82% match — A wave-particle; an entity which simultaneously has the properties of a wave and a particle. vs quantum →