Standard Lemma guide

octonion

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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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɒkˈtəʊ.ni.ən/
  • General-American: /ɑkˈtoʊ.ni.ən/
  • rhymes with -əʊniən

1

noun

Meaning 1

An 8-dimensional nonassociative extension of a quaternion with a real part and 7 imaginary parts (each a real multiple of a distinct square root of −1).

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

Blend of Latin octō (“eight”) + quaternion.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: octonion — nonassociative extension of a quaternion
  • German: Oktave — nonassociative extension of a quaternion
  • German: Oktonion — nonassociative extension of a quaternion
  • Icelandic: áttundatala — nonassociative extension of a quaternion
  • Italian: ottonione — nonassociative extension of a quaternion
  • Italian: ottetto — nonassociative extension of a quaternion
  • Russian: октонио́н (oktonión) — nonassociative extension of a quaternion
  • Spanish: octonión — nonassociative extension of a quaternion