EIGENVALUE

[ei.gen.val.ue] n [part trans. of G Eigenwert, fr. eigen own, peculiar + Wert value] (1927): a scalar associated with a given linear transformation of a vector space and having the property that there is some nonzero vector which when multiplied by the scalar is equal to the vector obtained by letting the transformation operate on the vector; esp: a root of the characteristic equation of a matrix