sine

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   in a right triangle, the ratio of the side opposite an angle to the hypotenuse; more generally, the corresponding trigonometric function

   The sine of thirty degrees is one half.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Sine, recorded in English from the late 16th century, is historically connected with Latin sinus, “a bend.” It shares this Latin source with sinus and belongs to the same word family as sinuous and insinuate.

Borrowed from Latin sinus ("curve, fold, bosom"), used to translate Arabic jayb ("bosom"). Jayb arose from a reading of consonantal j-y-b, representing Arabic jiba, itself borrowed from Sanskrit jya ("bowstring, chord"). The mathematical term is therefore the result of a historic translation chain.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary