Meanings
plural characteristic roots
- linear algebraAn eigenvalue.
2009, Babu Ram, Engineering Mathematics, Pearson Education India, page 13.56, Theorem 13.54. The characteristic roots of a Hermitian matrix are real.
2 more examples
1962 [Prentice Hall], Leonard E. Fuller, Basic Matrix Theory, 2017, Dover, page 217, There is an important relationship between the characteristic roots of a symmetric matrix and the r and p of the associated quadratic form. It is true that the number of positive characteristic roots is p, whereas the number of nonzero characteristic roots is r.
The determinant of a matrix is the product of its characteristic roots.
1985, Takeshi Amemiya, Advanced Econometrics, Harvard University Press, page 459
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Frenchracine caractéristique
- Englishcharacteristic root
Calque of French racine caractéristique, the term preferred by French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy (1789–1857).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
characteristic root. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/characteristic%20root
“characteristic root.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/characteristic%20root. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “characteristic root,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/characteristic%20root.
Source: characteristic root on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.