Dictionary
char'acteris'tic root'
Math.
1. a scalar for which there exists a nonzero vector such that the scalar times the vector equals the value of the vector under a given linear transformation on a vector space.
2. a root of the characteristic equation of a given matrix. Also called
char'acteris'tic val'ue, eigenvalue, latent root, proper value. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.