[sca.lar] adj [L scalaris, fr. scalae stairs, ladder--more at scale] (ca. 1656) 1: having an uninterrupted series of steps: graduated "~ chain of authority" "~ cells"
2. a: capable of being represented by a point on a scale "~ quantity" b: of or relating to a scalar or scalar product "~ multiplication"
[2]scalar n (1846) 1: a real number rather than a vector
2: a quantity (as mass or time) that has a magnitude describable by a real number and no direction