Tangent,

6 definitions found

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

  Tangent \Tan"gent\, n. [L. tangens, -entis, p. pr. of tangere to
     touch; akin to Gr. ? having seized: cf. F. tangente. Cf.
     {Attain}, {Contaminate}, {Contingent}, {Entire}, {Tact},
     {Taste}, {Tax}, v. t.] (Geom.)
     A tangent line curve, or surface; specifically, that portion
     of the straight line tangent to a curve that is between the


     point of tangency and a given line, the given line being, for
     example, the axis of abscissas, or a radius of a circle
     produced. See {Trigonometrical function}, under {Function}.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Artificial tangent}, or {Logarithmic tangent}, the logarithm
        of the natural tangent of an arc.
  
     {Natural tangent}, a decimal expressing the length of the
        tangent of an arc, the radius being reckoned unity.
  
     {Tangent galvanometer} (Elec.), a form of galvanometer having
        a circular coil and a short needle, in which the tangent
        of the angle of deflection of the needle is proportional
        to the strength of the current.
  
     {Tangent of an angle}, the natural tangent of the arc
        subtending or measuring the angle.
  
     {Tangent of an arc}, a right line, as ta, touching the arc of
        a circle at one extremity a, and terminated by a line ct,
        passing from the center through the other extremity o.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  Tangent \Tan"gent\, a. [L. tangens, -entis, p. pr.]
     Touching; touching at a single point; specifically (Geom.)
     meeting a curve or surface at a point and having at that
     point the same direction as the curve or surface; -- said of
     a straight line, curve, or surface; as, a line tangent to a
     curve; a curve tangent to a surface; tangent surfaces.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Tangent plane} (Geom.), a plane which touches a surface in a
        point or line.
  
     {Tangent scale} (Gun.), a kind of breech sight for a cannon.
        
  
     {Tangent screw} (Mach.), an endless screw; a worm.
        [1913 Webster]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tangent
       n 1: a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved
            surface at a point but does not intersect it at that
            point
       2: ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled
          triangle [syn: {tan}]

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

  58 Moby Thesaurus words for "tangent":
     abutter, adjoiner, air line, approach, asymptote, axis, beeline,
     borderer, bottleneck, bystander, chord, collision course,
     concentralization, concentration, concourse, concurrence,
     confluence, conflux, congress, convergence, converging, crossing,
     diagonal, diameter, direct line, directrix, edge, focalization,
     focus, funnel, great-circle course, hub, immediate neighbor,
     looker-on, meeting, mutual approach, narrowing gap, neighbor,
     neighborer, normal, onlooker, perpendicular, radius, radius vector,
     right line, secant, segment, shortcut, side, spokes, straight,
     straight course, straight line, straight stretch, straightaway,
     streamline, transversal, vector
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Tangent, OR (city, FIPS 72600)
    Location: 44.55120 N, 123.10790 W
    Population (1990): 556 (207 housing units)
    Area: 9.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 97389

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Tangent, OR -- U.S. city in Oregon
     Population (2000):    933
     Housing Units (2000): 366
     Land area (2000):     3.778661 sq. miles (9.786686 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    3.778661 sq. miles (9.786686 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            72600
     Located within:       Oregon (OR), FIPS 41
     Location:             44.550063 N, 123.109110 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     97389
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Tangent, OR
      Tangent