SECANT • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Secant

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noun

Secant n.

(Geom.) A line that cuts another; especially, a straight line cutting a curve in two or more points.

(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.

adjective

Secant adj. Cutting; dividing into two parts; as, a secant line.

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Etymology of 'Secant'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Secant" Quotes from Famous Books

... question connected with this, the problem of drawing tangents to any curve, Descartes was drawn into a controversy with Pierre (de) Fermat (1601-1663), Gilles Persone de Roberval (1602-1675), and Girard Desargues (1593-1661). Fermat and Descartes agreed in regarding the tangent to a curve as a secant of that curve with the two points of intersection coinciding, while Roberval regarded it as the direction of the composite movement by which the curve can be described. Both these methods, differing from ...

— Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 - "Demijohn" to "Destructor" • Various