Meanings
plural orthos
- countablechemistryAn isomer of a benzene derivative having two substituents adjacent on the ring.
Similarly, it also does not make sense to call the spin states of ortho and para hydrogen entangled.
2009 February 27, P. Neumann et al., “Response to Comment on "Multipartite Entanglement Among Single Spins in Diamond"”, in Science, volume 323, number 5918, →DOI1 more example
When the cinnamic acid had been nitrated the ortho was separated from the para, by suspending in alcohol and leading hydrochloric acid gas into the mixture : […].
1887 December 21, Thomas M. Morgan, “On Some Derivatives of Ortho-Nitro-Cinnamic Acid”, in Chemical News^([269]) - countableastronomyA certain type of flat eyepiece.
Orthos are excellent eyepieces, still preferred by some backyard astronomers for medium- and high-power applications, especially planetary observing.
1998, Terence Dickinson, NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe, page 76 - countabledatedartsAn orthochromatic plate.
Wherever the exposure is likely to be cut short— and this includes all high speed work and most portraiture — the ortho is not so suitable as the ordinary plate.
1908 June, Charles F. Rice, “On the Use of Orthochromatic Plates”, in Photographic Times, page 174 - abbreviationclippingcountablehuman sciencesClipping of orthography.
- abbreviationclippingcountableartsClipping of orthophoto.
The typical orthophoto building process is a long one, however, and the photography that the orthos are based may be several years old before an orthophoto is ready for distribution.
2001, Drew Decker, GIS Data Sources, page 105 - abbreviationclippinguncountablemedicineClipping of orthopedics.
Origin
Ultimately from the prefix ortho-.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
ortho. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ortho
“ortho.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ortho. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ortho,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ortho.
Source: ortho on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.