Vectoring

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The method of channeling objects or data along predetermined routes
2. The practice of steering materials or signals towards targeted outcomes
3. The action of steering something along a specific course ; the process of conveying information through vectors or directional quantities

Etymology: The verb "vectoring" comes from "vector," which is a Latin word meaning "carrier" or "transporter," formed from "vehō," "to carry, transport, bear." The same root gives English "vehicle," so the two words are close cousins. Latin "vector" was a borrowing into English that retained its original sense for a long time before taking on new meanings. The sense behind "vectoring" as steering things toward a target came from the language of disease. A "vector" became the term for an organism, such as a mosquito or tick, that carries an infection from one host to another, and this sense gave rise to the modern idea of a person or entity passing along a meme or urban legend. In mathematics, the sense of a quantity with both magnitude and direction was coined by Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton in 1846.

Synonyms: directing, guiding