secant

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsikænt/ UK /ˈsiːkənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a line cutting a curve; the reciprocal of the cosine in trigonometry

The secant of the angle was computed as the inverse of its cosine.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a line cutting a curve; the... cutter

Opposites

tangent

Word family

Related forms section intersect dissect

Etymology

From Latin 'secant-', present participle stem of 'secare' ('to cut'), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ('to cut').

secans Latin secare Latin *sek- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

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# secant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈsikænt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsiːkənt/

## Meanings
1. a line cutting a curve; the reciprocal of the cosine in trigonometry

## Examples
- The secant of the angle was computed as the inverse of its cosine.

## Synonyms
- cutter

## Antonyms
- tangent

## Related Forms
- section
- intersect
- dissect

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: secans
- Root: secare
- Root: *sek-

## Etymology
From Latin 'secant-', present participle stem of 'secare' ('to cut'), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ('to cut').

## AI Etymology
Secant comes from Latin 'secant-', present participle stem of 'secare' ('to cut'), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ('to cut'). The historical chain includes Latin secans, Latin secare, and Proto-Indo-European *sek-. Older glosses in the chain include "secant-", "secare", and "to cut", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, secant is best read as borrowing, yielding an English noun and adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun and adjective, with the sense "a line cutting a curve; the reciprocal of the cosine in trigonometry". related forms include section, intersect, and dissect. The result is an English noun and adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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secant

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