quantum meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

quantum

noun

UK /ˈkwɒntəm/ · US /ˈkwɑntəm/

Etymology From Late Latin quantum, noun use of neuter form of Latin quantus (“how much”).

10 senses

1The total amount of something; quantity.
2The amount of compensation awarded to a successful party…
3The length or magnitude of the sentence handed down to…
4The amount or quantity observably present, or available.
5The smallest possible, and therefore indivisible, unit…
6The amount of time allocated for a thread to perform its…
7Ellipsis of quantum computing.
8The minimum dose of a pathogen required to cause an infection.
9Amount of goods produced or demanded.
10A definite portion of a manifoldness, limited by a mark…

Law South Asia The total amount of something; quantity.

The reader will perhaps be curious to know the quantum of this present, but we cannot satisfy his curiosity.1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society, published 1973, page 416:
A certain quantum of power must always exist in the community, in some hands, and under some appellation.1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, Oxford, published 2009, page 142:

2 more examples

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.1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 375:
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.2008 May 21, The Times of India:

Law South Asia The amount of compensation awarded to a successful party in a lawsuit.

Law South Asia 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.

Each man has only a quantum of compassion, he argued, and mine is used up for the day.1979, John Le Carré, Smiley's People, Folio Society, published 2010, page 96:
The dream of flying, according to Strümpell, is the appropriate image used by the psyche to interpret the quantum of stimulus [translating Reizquantum] proceeding from the rise and fall of the lungs when the cutaneous sensation of the thorax has simultaneously sunk into unconsciousness.1999, Sigmund Freud, translated by Joyce Crick, The Interpretation of Dreams, Oxford, published 2008, page 34:

Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The smallest possible, and therefore indivisible, unit of a given quantity or quantifiable phenomenon.

The quantum of light energy was later called a photon.2002, David C Cassidy et al., Understanding Physics, Birkhauser, page 602:

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The amount of time allocated for a thread to perform its work in a multithreaded environment.

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Abbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of quantum computing.

Developing for quantum has never been more accessible.

Medicine, Sciences The minimum dose of a pathogen required to cause an infection.

Economics, Sciences Amount of goods produced or demanded.

Mathematics, Sciences A definite portion of a manifoldness, limited by a mark or by a boundary.

Defined parts of a manifoldness are called Quanta1882, William Kingdon Clifford, Mathematical Papers:

Derived terms: blood quantum, post-quantum, quantize, quantum bogosort, quantum financial system, quantum interference, quantum of action, quantum of Indian blood, quantum-proof, quantum-resistant, quantum-safe, quantum satis, quantum singularity, quantum state tomography, quantum weirdness, time quantum

quantum

adj

Etymology From Late Latin quantum, noun use of neuter form of Latin quantus (“how much”).

Of a change, sudden or discrete, without intermediate stages.

Informal Of a change, significant.

Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Involving quanta, quantum mechanics or other aspects of quantum physics.

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.2012 January 23, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 19 Jun 2017, page 86:

Computing, Computing theory, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics, Sciences Relating to a quantum computer.

Derived terms: 158 terms
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