The difference between `amount' and `magnitude'

[alfabenfi]

Hello friends,
I am translating a philosophic text from Arabic into English. I deal with a notion as 'miqdar' which is equal to magnitude and amount both in every Arabic-English dictionary. As I understood magnitude and amount both refer to the size of a quantity while it seems they are also different since I've not seen them as synonyms anywhere. Would you please tell me what is exactly their difference and is it possible to substitute them?
Thanks in advance
Regards
Benfi

 

[emsr2d2]

"Magnitude" can suggest something large, or "strength".

The magnitude of this scandal is mind-blowing.
The magnitude of last night's earthquake in Sheffield is not yet known.


"Amount" is a term that can be used with any size-specific term.

He has a very small amount of money.
The Prime Minister has a huge amount of money.
You only need to add a tiny amount of salt to this dish.
He put a reasonable amount of chilli in the pot.

 

[Raymott]

It would be useful if you posted some of your translated sentences for us to check if you're unsure.
Simply, 'magnitude' means size. Neither 'size' nor 'magnitude' would fit into any of emsr2d2's sentences above which use 'amount'.

 

[alfabenfi]

Thanks everybody,
The text is an old philosophical text belonged to Avicenna; it is related to notion of time.

Definition of time according to Aristotle is: "The number of motion in respect of before or after" (Physics, Book IV). This is a classical definition translated from Greek into English and accepted by most of scholars as a good translation.

Now in my text, Avicenna discussed this definition about the term "number" and how it is related to time: Time is adad (number) in such way that a mover is in stands in a distance and it is miqdar (amount or magnitude[?]) in respect that a motion is passed longer or shorter.

From the examples of emsr2d2, I got that "magnitude" fits more, as I conceived that amount refer to a specific size.

Again thanks for joining and helps
Benfi