english word · 2026-08-11

orthogonality

noun

Meaning

A design quality where changing one component has no effect on others, ensuring that features are independent and decoupled. In programming, it is the ability to combine various building blocks without worrying about side effects between them.

Etymology

Derived from the Greek 'orthos' meaning 'straight' and 'gonia' meaning 'angle', referring to lines at right angles that do not influence each other's direction.

Examples

"The new API design has great orthogonality; I can change the database driver without touching the authentication logic."

"We should strive for orthogonality in our utility functions so they remain predictable across different modules."

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