Standard Lemma guide

eigenfunction

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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A function φ such that, for a given linear operator D, Dφ=λφ for some scalar λ (called an eigenvalue).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2eyḱ- Proto-Indo-European *h2eh2óyḱe Proto-Germanic *aiganą Proto-Germanic *aiganaz Proto-West Germanic *aigan Old High German eigan Middle High German eigen German eigenbor. English eigen- Old French fonction Middle French functionbor. English function English eigenfunction From eigen- + function.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 本徵函數 /本征函数 (běnzhēng hánshù) — function
  • Finnish: ominaisfunktio — function
  • French: fonction propre — function
  • German: Eigenfunktion — function
  • Greek: ιδιοσυνάρτηση (idiosynártisi) — function
  • Icelandic: eiginfall — function
  • Italian: autofunzione — function
  • Japanese: 固有関数 (koyū kansū) — function
  • Portuguese: autofunção — function
  • Portuguese: função própria — function
  • Russian: со́бственная фу́нкция (sóbstvennaja fúnkcija) — function
  • Spanish: autofunción — function
  • Spanish: función propia — function
  • Swedish: egenfunktion — function
  • Welsh: ffwythiant eigen — function