Asymptote

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Asymptote \As"ymp*tote\ (?; 215), n. [Gr. ? not falling
     together; 'a priv. + ? to fall together; ? with + ? to fall.
     Cf. {Symptom}.] (Math.)
     A line which approaches nearer to some curve than assignable
     distance, but, though infinitely extended, would never meet
     it. Asymptotes may be straight lines or curves. A rectilinear


     asymptote may be conceived as a tangent to the curve at an
     infinite distance.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  asymptote
       n : a straight line that is the limiting value of a curve; can
           be considered as tangent at infinity; "the asymptote of
           the curve"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  23 Moby Thesaurus words for "asymptote":
     approach, bottleneck, collision course, concentralization,
     concentration, concourse, concurrence, confluence, conflux,
     congress, convergence, converging, crossing, focalization, focus,
     funnel, hub, meeting, mutual approach, narrowing gap, radius,
     spokes, tangent