quantum

Meanings

Noun

• The total amount of something; quantity.
• The amount or quantity observably present, or available.
• The smallest possible, and therefore indivisible, unit of a given quantity or quantifiable phenomenon.
• A definite portion of a manifoldness, limited by a mark or by a boundary.
• A brief document provided by the judge, elaborating on a sentencing decision.
• The amount of time allocated for a thread to perform its work in a multithreaded environment.
• The minimum dose of a pathogen required to cause an infection.

Adjective

• Of a change, sudden or discrete, without intermediate stages.
• Of a change, significant.
• Involving quanta, quantum mechanics or other aspects of quantum physics.

Origin

• From Late Latin quantum, noun use of neuter form of Latin quantus ("how much").