Dictionary

tangent en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• tăn'jənt
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- Proto-Italic *tangō Latin tangō Latin tangēns Latin tangentembor. English tangent Borrowed from Latin tangentem, the accusative of tangēns (“touching”) (in the phrase līnea tangēns (“a touching line”)), the present participle of the verb tangō (“touch”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tangō, from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to touch”). Cognate with Old English þaccian (“to touch lightly, pat, stroke”). More at thack, thwack.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
2. (not-comparable) Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
3. (not-comparable, of track) Straight; not horizontally curved.
   • The collision occurred on a two-mile stretch of tangent track.

Deriveds

tangently

Synonyms

tangential

Translations (9)

es tangente (in geometry) · bg тангенциален (in geometry) · gl tanxente (in geometry) · pt tangente (in geometry) · ca tangent (in geometry) · fr tangente (in geometry) · it tangente (in geometry) · bg допирателен (in geometry) · ast tanxente (in geometry)

tangent en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• tăn'jənt
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- Proto-Italic *tangō Latin tangō Latin tangēns Latin tangentembor. English tangent Borrowed from Latin tangentem, the accusative of tangēns (“touching”) (in the phrase līnea tangēns (“a touching line”)), the present participle of the verb tangō (“touch”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tangō, from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to touch”). Cognate with Old English þaccian (“to touch lightly, pat, stroke”). More at thack, thwack.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:differential geometry) A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
   • One feature of the body, which is constructed of pressed-steel members, is the contour of the sides. They are in the form of a continuous radius from the bottom side to the cant rail, and to enable flat glass windows to be fitted the side panels are pressed around the window opening, forming a tangent to the curved bodyside. 1951 May, “British Railways Standard Coaches”, in Railway Magazine, page 327:
2. A function of an angle that gives the ratio of the sine to the cosine, in either the real or complex numbers. Symbols: tan, tg.
3. (qualifier:transferred sense) A course suddenly and unexpectedly divergent from one which was previously being followed (especially one embarked on before reaching the end of the previous course).
4. (qualifier:transferred sense) A course suddenly and unexpectedly divergent from one which was previously being followed (especially one embarked on before reaching the end of the previous course). ▸ A new topic of discussion unrelated to the one which came before it, arrived at due to a single (peripheral or trivial) point in common with it.
   • “Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?” 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well Tackled!:
   • Jon & Kate Plus 8 is a show based on two facts: (1) Jon and Kate Gosselin have eight children, and (2) the word ‘Kate’ rhymes with the word ‘eight’. One suspects that if Kate were ever to have another child, a shady network executive would urge her to put it in a binbag with a brick and drop it down a well. But this is just a horrifying tangent. 2009 May 22, Stuart Heritage, “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”, in Hecklerspray, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2024:
   • I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.
5. A visual interaction between two or more lines or edges that creates a perceived relationship between them, often in a way that the artist did not intend.
6. A small metal blade in a clavichord that strikes the strings to produce sound.

Forms

Deriveds

antitangent · hyperbolic tangent · tangent space · tritangent · bitangent · tangentality · tangental · tangent plane · tangentoidal · go off at a tangent · tangential · tangentiality · inflectional tangent · subtangent · cotangent · fly off at a tangent · inverse tangent · tangent bundle · go off on a tangent · semitangent · tangentially · tangentally · tangentoid · arctangent

Relateds

tangence · tangency

Synonyms

tangent line

Translations (109)

uk доти́чна (in geometry) · fi harhapolku (nearly unrelated topic) · be та́нгенс (in trigonometry) · mk допирка (in geometry) · ru каса́тельная (in geometry) · he טנגנס (in trigonometry) · ru де́бри (nearly unrelated topic) · fi sivuaja (in geometry) · it tangente (in geometry) · az toxunan (in geometry) · et puutuja (in geometry) · cs tečna (in geometry) · pt tangente (in trigonometry) · hu érintő (in geometry) · ar مُمَاسّ (in geometry) · nl tangens (in trigonometry) · fi tangentti (in geometry) · az tangens (in trigonometry) · ru отступле́ние (nearly unrelated topic) · da tangent (in geometry) · ca tangent (in trigonometry) · gl tanxente (in geometry) · fa تانژانت (in trigonometry) · pl punkt wspólny (nearly unrelated topic) · ru каки́е-то де́бри (nearly unrelated topic) · ca tangent (nearly unrelated topic) · el εφαπτομένη (in trigonometry) · hu tangens (in trigonometry) · fr tangente (in geometry) · bg допира́телна (in geometry) · uk та́нгенс (in trigonometry) · km តង់សង់ (in trigonometry) · af raaklyne (in trigonometry) · mk тангента (in geometry) · fa مماس (in geometry) · sv tangens (in trigonometry) · ja タンジェント (in trigonometry) · mk тангенс (in trigonometry) · cmn 正切 (in trigonometry) · ja 正接 (in trigonometry) · es tangente (in trigonometry) · ceb liras (in trigonometry) · te తిర్యగ్రేఖ (in geometry) · th เส้นสัมผัส (in geometry) · mi pātapa (in geometry) · vi tiếp tuyến (in geometry) · cs tangens (in trigonometry) · ru побо́чная те́ма (nearly unrelated topic) · ko 접선 (in geometry) · ast tanxente (in trigonometry) · uk ліри́чний ві́дступ (nearly unrelated topic) · mi pātapa (in trigonometry) · af tangens (in trigonometry) · eo tangento (in trigonometry) · hy շոշափող (in geometry) · fi sivuraide (nearly unrelated topic) · gl tanxente (in trigonometry) · eo tanĝanto (in geometry) · nl raaklijn (in geometry) · sv tangent (in geometry) · pl tangens (in trigonometry) · my တန်းဂျင့် (in trigonometry) · nn tangent (in geometry) · pl styczna (in geometry) · tr teğet (in geometry) · hy տանգենս (in trigonometry) · nb tangens (in trigonometry) · cmn 切線 /切线 (in geometry) · is tangens (in trigonometry) · fr tangente (in trigonometry) · bg та́нгенс (in trigonometry) · bg отклонение (nearly unrelated topic) · tl dikit (in geometry) · nn tangens (in trigonometry) · gv tanjent (in geometry) · vi tang (in trigonometry) · da sidespor (nearly unrelated topic) · hi स्पर्शरेखा (in geometry) · ru не в ту степь (nearly unrelated topic) · de Tangens (in trigonometry) · fa ظل (in trigonometry) · af raaklyn (in trigonometry) · ru отклоне́ние от те́мы (nearly unrelated topic) · el εφαπτομένη (in geometry) · gv tanjent (in trigonometry) · tl tanway (in trigonometry) · ro tangentă (in trigonometry) · ro tangentă (in geometry) · de Nebensache (nearly unrelated topic) · be даты́чная (in geometry) · eo parentezaĵo (nearly unrelated topic) · ca tangent (in geometry) · tr tanjant (in trigonometry) · is snertill (in geometry) · fi tangentti (in trigonometry) · ja 接線 (in geometry) · da tangens (in trigonometry) · af tangense (in trigonometry) · ast tanxente (in geometry) · ar ظِلّ الزَّاوِيَة (in trigonometry) · sk dotyčnica (in geometry) · pt tangente (in geometry) · ko 탄젠트 (in trigonometry) · de Tangente (in geometry) · es tangente (in geometry) · it tangente (in trigonometry) · nb tangent (in geometry) · ru та́нгенс (in trigonometry) · th แทนเจนต์ (in trigonometry)

tangent en · VERB

Pronunciation

• tăn'jənt
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- Proto-Italic *tangō Latin tangō Latin tangēns Latin tangentembor. English tangent Borrowed from Latin tangentem, the accusative of tangēns (“touching”) (in the phrase līnea tangēns (“a touching line”)), the present participle of the verb tangō (“touch”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tangō, from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to touch”). Cognate with Old English þaccian (“to touch lightly, pat, stroke”). More at thack, thwack.

Meanings

1. (informal, intransitive, rare) Synonym of fly off at a tangent (“to digress from a topic”).
   • I apoligise^([sic]) if anyone found these back-references more helpful than the answers that I gave -- I tried to cover all the salient points but -- well... "everything is deeply intermingled" and it's hard to know where to stop tangenting. 2001 November 16, Helpful GM, “CL: you gain experience???”, in comp.sys.mac.games.adventure (Usenet):
   • Stop tangenting, please, thanks! 2011 May 19, BaSSiStiSt, “Questions for WAB - 5/19/11”, in alt.sports.basketball.nba.la-lakers (Usenet):
   • OK. Did that have anything to do with what I was saying? I just wanna know if you're tangenting or making an oblique connection I'm missing. 1999 August 12, Robin Lee Powell, “Are WOMEN the SUPERIOR GENDER?”, in soc.sexuality.general (Usenet):

Forms

Relateds

non sequitur · tangent off · trigonometry · sine · cosine

Synonyms

fly off at a tangent