Standard Lemma guide

eigenclass

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A hidden class associated with each specific instance of another class.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: object-oriented programming

Examples

  • Singleton methods in Ruby live in a special, hidden class called the singleton class (it used to be referred to as the eigenclass, but singleton class is the current term).

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From eigen- + class.