tangent

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtan(d)ʒ(ə)nt/

noun

  • 1a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point, but if extended does not cross it at that point.
  • 2a completely different line of thought or action: Loretta’s mind went off at a tangent
  • 3 Mathematics the trigonometric function that is equal to the ratio of the sides (other than the hypotenuse) opposite and adjacent to an angle in a right-angled triangle.

adjective

  • (of a line or plane) touching, but not intersecting, a curve or curved surface: this curve is tangent to the average cost curve

Derivatives

tangency

noun

Origin:

late 16th century (in tangent (sense 3 of the noun) and as an adjective): from Latin tangent- 'touching', from the verb tangere