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tangent

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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A straight line tangent to a curve
Tangent function of unit circle

Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-
Proto-Italic *tangō
Latin tangō
Latin tangēns
Latin tangentembor.
English tangent

    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

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    Noun

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    tangent (plural tangents)

    1. (differential geometry) A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
      Synonym: tangent line
      • 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.
    2. (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.
    3. (transferred sense) A course suddenly and unexpectedly divergent from one which was previously being followed (especially one embarked on before reaching the end of the previous course).
      1. A new topic of discussion unrelated to the one which came before it, arrived at due to a single (peripheral or trivial) 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.
        • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well Tackled!‎[1]:
          “Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”
        • 2009 May 22, Stuart Heritage, “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”, in Hecklerspray‎[2], archived from the original on 15 April 2024:
          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.
    4. (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.
    5. (music) A small metal blade in a clavichord or other instrument that strikes the strings to produce sound.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Adjective

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    tangent (not comparable)

    1. (geometry) Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
    2. Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
      Synonym: tangential
    3. (rail transport, of track) Straight; not horizontally curved.
      The collision occurred on a two-mile stretch of tangent track.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Verb

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    tangent (third-person singular simple present tangents, present participle tangenting, simple past and past participle tangented)

    1. (intransitive, informal, rare) Synonym of fly off at a tangent (“to digress from a topic”).
      • 1999 August 12, Robin Lee Powell, “Are WOMEN the SUPERIOR GENDER?”, in soc.sexuality.general‎[3] (Usenet):
        <nod> OK. Did that have anything to do with what I was saying? I just wanna know if you're tangenting or making an oblique connection I'm missing.
      • 2001 November 16, Helpful GM, “CL: you gain experience???”, in comp.sys.mac.games.adventure‎[4] (Usenet):
        I apoligise[sic] if anyone found these back-references more helpful than the answers that I gave -- I tried to cover all the salient points but -- well... "everything is deeply intermingled" and it's hard to know where to stop tangenting.
      • 2011 May 19, BaSSiStiSt, “Questions for WAB - 5/19/11”, in alt.sports.basketball.nba.la-lakers‎[5] (Usenet):
        Stop tangenting, please, thanks!
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    See also

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    Catalan

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    Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin tangentem.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      tangent f (plural tangents)

      1. (trigonometry) tangent

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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      Danish

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      Etymology

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      Ultimately from Latin tangēns; cf. German Tangente.

      Noun

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      tangent c (singular definite tangenten, plural indefinite tangenter)

      1. (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.
      2. (music) key (e.g., on a piano)

      Declension

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      Declension of tangent
      common
      gender       		singular plural
      indefinite definite indefinite definite
      nominative tangent tangenten tangenter tangenterne
      genitive tangents tangentens tangenters tangenternes
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      References

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      French

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      Etymology

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        Learned borrowing from Latin tangēns.

        Pronunciation

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        Adjective

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        tangent (feminine tangente, masculine plural tangents, feminine plural tangentes)

        1. (mathematics) tangential
        2. borderline
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        Further reading

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        Latin

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        Pronunciation

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        Verb

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        tangent

        1. third-person plural future active indicative of tangō

        Norwegian Bokmål

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        Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia no

        Etymology

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        From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.

        Noun

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        tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangenter, definite plural tangentene)

        1. (geometry) tangent
        2. (music) key (e.g., on a piano)

        References

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        Norwegian Nynorsk

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        Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia nn

        Etymology

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        From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.

        Noun

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        tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangentar, definite plural tangentane)

        1. (geometry) tangent
        2. (music) key (e.g., on a piano)

        References

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        Romanian

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from French tangent, Latin tangēns, tangentem.

        Adjective

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        tangent m or n (feminine singular tangentă, masculine plural tangenți, feminine/neuter plural tangente)

        1. tangent

        Declension

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        Declension of tangent
        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

        Swedish

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        Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia sv

        Etymology

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        Ultimately from Latin tangēns; cf. German Tangente.

        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /tanˈjɛnt/, /tanˈɡɛnt/

        Noun

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        tangent c

        1. a key (on a typewriter, computer keyboard, piano, or the like)
        2. (mathematics) a tangent
        3. (mathematics, dated, only in the singular definite) tangent (trigonometric function)
          Synonyms: tangens, tan

        Declension

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        Declension of tangent
        nominative genitive
        singular indefinite tangent tangents
        definite tangenten tangentens
        plural indefinite tangenter tangenters
        definite tangenterna tangenternas

        Derived terms

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        See also

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        References

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