Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A straight line intersecting a curve at two or more points.
- noun The straight line drawn from the center through one end of a circular arc and intersecting the tangent to the other end of the arc.
- noun The ratio of the length of this line to the length of the radius of the circle.
- noun The reciprocal of the cosine of an angle in a right triangle.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Cutting; dividing into two parts.
- noun A line which cuts a figure in any way.
- noun Specifically, in trigonometry, a line from the center of a circle through one extremity of an are (whose secant it is said to be) to the tangent from the other extremity of the same are; or the ratio of this line to the radius; the reciprocal of the cosine.
- Specifically, noting a stream which cuts across folded strata.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Geom.) A line that cuts another; especially, a straight line cutting a curve in two or more points.
- noun (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 Cutting; dividing into two parts.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun geometry A
straight line thatintersects acurve at two or morepoints . - noun trigonometry In a
right triangle , thereciprocal of thecosine of anangle . Symbol:sec
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun ratio of the hypotenuse to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle
- noun a straight line that intersects a curve at two or more points
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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So: why is the word secant used as the word for the reciprocals of sine and cosine? what is the perimeter of a rhombus who's diagonals are 8 and 22? en Español
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Why is the word secant used as the word for the reciprocals of sine and cosine? en Español
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why is the word secant used as the word for the reciprocals of sine and cosine? what is the perimeter of a rhombus who's diagonals are 8 and 22? en Español
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The secant is the reciprocal of the cosine, the cosecant is the reciprocal of the sine, and the cotangent is the reciprocal of the tangent.
Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium - Recent changes [en] 2008
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"One secant," he said, giggling and walking faster through the swarming crowd.
Marc Philippe Eskenazi: Eavesdropping on New York Cell Phone Conversations Marc Philippe Eskenazi 2011
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"One secant," he said, giggling and walking faster through the swarming crowd.
Marc Philippe Eskenazi: Eavesdropping on New York Cell Phone Conversations Marc Philippe Eskenazi 2011
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One with secant ogive and minimal meplat is best at extreme distances such as 1000 yards.
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"One secant," he repeated as his brain waves began brawling.
Marc Philippe Eskenazi: Eavesdropping on New York Cell Phone Conversations Marc Philippe Eskenazi 2011
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One with secant ogive and minimal meplat is best at extreme distances such as 1000 yards.
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"One secant," he repeated as his brain waves began brawling.
Marc Philippe Eskenazi: Eavesdropping on New York Cell Phone Conversations Marc Philippe Eskenazi 2011
chained_bear commented on the word secant
"Few understood the Rule of Three; few could multiply with any certainty, nor yet divide; none knew the nature of a logarithm, a secant, a sine."
"'...What do you make of it?'
--Patrick O'Brian, The Ionian Mission, 120
February 13, 2008