secant

4 definitions found

secant - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  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]

  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]

secant - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  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: secant, sec]

secant - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  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