a HackerNoon project
Original · left

Vector (biology)

An organism, like a mosquito or tick, that transmits a disease from one host to another.

First in use: the 1700s
Duplicate · right

Vector database

A database built to store embeddings and run nearest-neighbor similarity search.

First in use: c. 2019

Vector / Vector (biology) / Vector database

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Canonical todayMeasuring…
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Duplicate share · 12 mo—
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Colour keyGrey · original meaningGreen · duplicate meaningAmber · contested (40–60%)How colours work

Mosquitoes vs. embeddings stores.

Which meaning of Vector is the original, and which one is the duplicate riding on its name? Vector (biology) came first (the 1700s). Vector database arrived in 2019. The data below shows which one owns the word now.

Wikipedia pageviews since 2015

Vector (biology)Vector database
English Wikipedia pageviews since July 2015 load here.

Duplicate's share of attention

Green line = duplicate's % · above 60 it owns the word · below 40 the original does

Share-of-attention line loads here.

The case for each meaning

Sourced definitions, usage stats and quotes

Original · the 1700s

Vector (biology)

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Duplicate · c. 2019

Vector database

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More duplicated terms

Data & databases