subtend

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to lie opposite an angle, or to have an angle formed at a point by lines drawn to the ends of an arc, line, or object

   The diameter subtends a right angle at every point on the semicircle.

2. 2
   verb

   to extend beneath or opposite something so as to mark off its limits

   From the observer's position, the two stars subtend only a tiny angle.

From Latin subtendere ("to stretch beneath"), from sub- ("under") + tendere ("to stretch"). The geometrical sense parallels Ancient Greek hypoteinein, the source behind hypotenuse.

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