vector

(Latin: quantity having magnitude and direction; carrier, bearer, conveyer; from past participle stem of vehere "to carry, to convey")

convector
1. A partly enclosed, directly heated surface from which warm air circulates by convection.
2. A space heater that transfers heat to the surrounding air by convection.
vection
The carrying of disease germs from an infected person to a well person.

It is circumferential, indirect, or mediate when pathogens are carried by an intermediate host; direct, immediate, and radial when transferred directly from one person to another.

vectocardiogram
The record, usually a photograph, of the loop formed on the oscilloscope in vectorcardiography, the inscribed loop representing the ends of the instantaneous vectors.
vector
1. Mathematics: A quantity, such as velocity, completely specified by a magnitude and a direction; a one-dimensional array; an element of a vector space.
2. Pathology: An organism: such as, a mosquito or tick, that carries disease-causing microorganisms from one host to another.

A reference to any agent (person or animal or microorganism) that carries and transmits a disease; for example, mosquitos are vectors of malaria and yellow fever; fleas are vectors of the plague; aphids are transmitters of plant diseases; and when medical scientists refer to vectors they are usually talking about insects.

3. Genetics: A bacteriophage, plasmid, or other agent that transfers genetic material from one cell to another.
4. A force or influence.
5. A course or direction, as of an airplane.
6. An operating system: A memory location containing the address of some code, often some kind of exception handler or other operating system service. By changing the vector to point to a different piece of code it is possible to modify the behavior of the operating system.
vectorcardiography
1. A method of determining the direction and magnitude of the electrical forces of the heart.
2. Recording of the moment-to-moment electromotive forces of the heart on a plane of the body surface delineated as a vector function of time.
3. The registration, usually by formation of a loop display on an oscilloscope, of the direction and magnitude (vector) of the moment-to-moment electromotive forces of the heart during one complete cycle, as transmitted by electrocardiographic leads.
vectorgraph
The instrument used in vectorcardiography.
vectorial
1. Of, relating to, or characterized by a vector.
2. Pertaining to a vector.
vectoring
To guide (a pilot or aircraft, for example) by means of radio communication according to vectors.
vectors
1. Things physical; such as, forces which have size and direction.
2. Insects or animals which carry diseases from one animal or plant to another.
vectorscope
A special type of oscilloscope used in both audio and video applications.

Most modern waveform monitors include vectorscope functionality built in; and many allow the two modes to be displayed side-by-side. The combined device is typically referred to as a waveform monitor. Stand-alone vectorscopes are becoming obsolete.