Secant

4 definitions found

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

  Secant \Se"cant\ (s[=e]"k[a^]nt), a. [L. secans, -antis, p. pr.
     of secare to cut. See {Section}.]
     Cutting; dividing into two parts; as, a secant line.
     [1913 Webster]

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



  Secant \Secant\, n. [Cf. F. s['e]cante. See {Secant}, a.]
     1. (Geom.) A line that cuts another; especially, a straight
        line cutting a curve in two or more points.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Trig.) A right line drawn from the center of a circle
        through one end of a circular arc, and terminated by a
        tangent drawn from the other end; the number expressing
        the ratio of this line to the radius of the circle. See
        {Trigonometrical function}, under {Function}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  secant
       n 1: a straight line that intersects a curve at two or more
            points
       2: ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side of a
          right-angled triangle [syn: {sec}]

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

  40 Moby Thesaurus words for "secant":
     air line, axis, beeline, chiasmal, chiasmic, chiastic, chord,
     crisscross, cross, crosscut, crossed, crossing, cut across,
     decussate, decussated, diagonal, diameter, direct line, directrix,
     edge, great-circle course, intersected, intersecting, normal,
     perpendicular, radius, radius vector, right line, segment,
     shortcut, side, straight, straight course, straight line,
     straight stretch, straightaway, streamline, tangent, transversal,
     vector