imaginary

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English ymaginarie, ymagynary, from Latin imāginārius (“relating to images, fancied”), from imāgō, equivalent to imagine +‎ -ary. The mathematical sense derives from René Descartes's use (of the French imaginaire) in 1637, La Geometrie, to ridicule the notion of regarding non-real roots of polynomials as numbers. Although Descartes' usage was derogatory, the designation stuck even after the concept gained acceptance in the 18th century. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnəɹi/, /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪnɹi/ (General American) IPA(key): /ɪˈmæd͡ʒɪˌn(ɛ)ɹi/ Hyphenation: im‧a‧gin‧a‧ry === Adjective === imaginary (comparative more imaginary, superlative most imaginary) Existing only in the imagination. imaginary friend Relating or belonging to the imagination. 2003, Tom Conklin, Comprehension Cliffhanger Stories (page 31) Fiction refers to imaginary stories. (mathematics, of a number) Having no real part; that part of a complex number which is a multiple of − 1 {\displaystyle {\sqrt {-1}}} (called imaginary unit). ==== Synonyms ==== (existing only in the imagination): all in one's head ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === imaginary (plural imaginaries) Imagination; fancy. [from 16th c.] (mathematics, countable) An imaginary number. [from 18th c.] (sociology) The set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols common to a particular social group and the corresponding society through which people imagine their social whole. [from c. 1975] === References ===