Meeting at right angles; perpendicular, or in broader usage, independent and unrelated to each other.
From Greek 'orthos' (straight, correct) and 'gonia' (angle), literally meaning 'right-angled.' Entered English through mathematical Latin in the 19th century, later extending to abstract concepts of independence.
This geometric term has become a favorite in tech and business to mean 'completely separate' or 'independent,' showing how mathematical precision infiltrates everyday language. The beauty of orthogonality is that it represents perfect independence - like perpendicular lines that never interfere with each other's direction.
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