secant adjective & noun.
['si:k(ǝ)nt, 'sɛk-] L16.[French sécant adjective, sécante (sc. ligne), from mod. Latin use of Latin secant- pres. ppl stem of secare to cut: see -ANT1.]A. adjective.
Geometry. Of a line or surface in relation to another line or surface: cutting, intersecting.
rare.
L16.b. noun.
1. Math. One of the fundamental trigonometrical functions (cf.
TANGENT noun 1,
SINE 2): orig., the length of a straight line drawn from the centre of curvature of a circular arc through one end of the arc until it meets the tangent touching the arc at the other end; now, the ratio of this line to the radius; (equivalently, as a function of an angle) the ratio of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle to the side adjacent to a given angle (or, if obtuse, its supplement); the reciprocal of a cosine. Abbreviation
SEC noun1.
L16.2. Geometry. A line that cuts another;
esp. a straight line that cuts a curve in two or more parts.
L17. [TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲