tangent
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
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.
Pronunciation
- enPR: tăn'jənt, IPA(key): /ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ænd͡ʒənt
Noun
tangent (plural tangents)
- (differential geometry) A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
- 1951 May, “British Railways Standard Coaches”, in Railway Magazine, page 327:
- One feature of the body, which is constructed of pressed-steel members, is the contour of the sides. They are in the form of a continuous radius from the bottom side to the cant rail, and to enable flat glass windows to be fitted the side panels are pressed around the window opening, forming a tangent to the curved bodyside.
- Synonym: tangent line
- (mathematics) A function of an angle that gives the ratio of the sine to the cosine, in either the real or complex numbers. Symbols: tan, tg.
- A topic nearly unrelated to the main topic, but having a point in common with it.
- I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.
- 2009: Stuart Heritage, Hecklerspray, Friday the 22nd of May in 2009 at 1 o’clock p.m., “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”
- Jon & Kate Plus 8 is a show based on two facts: (1) Jon and Kate Gosselin have eight children, and (2) the word ‘Kate’ rhymes with the word ‘eight’. One suspects that if Kate were ever to have another child, a shady network executive would urge her to put it in a binbag with a brick and drop it down a well. But this is just a horrifying tangent.
- (art) A visual interaction between two or more lines or edges that creates a perceived relationship between them, often in a way that the artist did not intend.
- (music) A small metal blade in a clavichord that strikes the strings to produce sound.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
in geometry
|
in trigonometry
|
(art) visual interaction between lines
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Adjective
tangent (not comparable)
- (geometry) Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
- Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
- (rail transport, of track) Straight; not horizontally curved.
- The collision occurred on a two-mile stretch of tangent track.
Derived terms
See also
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
tangent f (plural tangents)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “tangent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Etymology
Noun
tangent c (singular definite tangenten, plural indefinite tangenter)
- (geometry) tangent
- Differentialregning kan fortolkes som forsøget på at bestemme en tangents hældning.
- Differential calculus may be interpreted as the attempt to determine the slope of a tangent.
- piano key
Declension
| common gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | tangent | tangenten | tangenter | tangenterne |
| genitive | tangents | tangentens | tangenters | tangenternes |
Declension of tangent
Related terms
References
- “tangent” in Den Danske Ordbog
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adjective
tangent (feminine tangente, masculine plural tangents, feminine plural tangentes)
Further reading
- “tangent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈtan.ɡent/, [ˈt̪äŋɡɛn̪t̪]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈtan.d͡ʒent/, [ˈt̪än̠ʲd͡ʒen̪t̪]
Verb
tangent
Etymology
From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.
Noun
tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangenter, definite plural tangentene)
References
- “tangent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Etymology
From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.
Noun
tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangentar, definite plural tangentane)
References
- “tangent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Etymology
Borrowed from French tangent, Latin tangēns, tangentem.
Adjective
tangent m or n (feminine singular tangentă, masculine plural tangenți, feminine and neuter plural tangente)
Declension
| singular | plural | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | |||
| nominative/ accusative | indefinite | tangent | tangentă | tangenți | tangente | |||
| definite | tangentul | tangenta | tangenții | tangentele | ||||
| genitive/ dative | indefinite | tangent | tangente | tangenți | tangente | |||
| definite | tangentului | tangentei | tangenților | tangentelor | ||||
Etymology
Noun
tangent c
- a key (on a typewriter, computer keyboard, piano, or the like)
- (mathematics) a tangent
- (mathematics, dated, only in the singular definite) tangent (trigonometric function)
Declension
Declension of tangent
Derived terms
- tangentbord (“keyboard”)
Related terms
References
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
