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Clifford algebra

Clifford algebra noun: a unital associative algebra which generalizes the algebra of quaternions but which is not necessarily a division algebra; it is generated by a set of γᵢ (with i ranging from, say, 1 to n) such that the square of each γᵢ is fixed to be either +1 or −1, depending on each i, and such that any product γᵢγⱼ anticommutes when its factors are distinct (i.e., when i ne j).

Noun

Clifford algebra (plural Clifford algebras)

  1. (mathematical physics) A unital associative algebra which generalizes the algebra of quaternions but which is not necessarily a division algebra; it is generated by a set of γᵢ (with i ranging from, say, 1 to n) such that the square of each γᵢ is fixed to be either +1 or −1, depending on each i, and such that any product γᵢγⱼ anticommutes when its factors are distinct (i.e., when i ne j).

Forms of Clifford algebra

pluralClifford algebras

Origin of Clifford algebra

Named after William Kingdon Clifford (1845–1879), an English mathematician and philosopher.

Questions about Clifford algebra

What does Clifford algebra mean?
Clifford algebra means a unital associative algebra which generalizes the algebra of quaternions but which is not necessarily a division algebra; it is generated by a set of γᵢ (with i ranging from, say, 1 to n) such that the square of each γᵢ is fixed to be either +1 or −1, depending on each i, and such that any product γᵢγⱼ anticommutes when its factors are distinct (i.e., when i ne j).
What part of speech is Clifford algebra?
Clifford algebra is a noun.
What is the plural of Clifford algebra?
The plural of Clifford algebra is Clifford algebras.

Words near Clifford algebra in the dictionary

  1. clifflets
  2. clifflike
  3. cliffline
  4. clifflines
  5. Clifford
  6. Clifford algebra
  7. Clifford algebras
  8. Clifford module
  9. Clifford modules
  10. Cliffordian
  11. cliffordite

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Clifford algebra (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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