tangent

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle

   I used the tangent of the sides to calculate the length of the hypotenuse.

2. 2
   noun

   a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point

   The tangent touched the arc at its apex.

3. 3
   noun

   a topic that is related, but not the same as, an original topic

   I was told to talk about boats, but I went on a tangent about trade winds.

Common collocations

• tangent plane Noun + noun

Borrowed from Latin tangentem, the accusative of tangēns (“touching”) (in the phrase līnea tangēns (“a touching line”)), the present participle of the verb tangō (“touch”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tangō, from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to touch”). Cognate with Old English þaccian (“to touch lightly, pat, stroke”). More at thack, thwack.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images