Dictionary

tangential en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /tænˈd͡ʒɛn.t͡ʃəl/ (US)
• /tænˈd͡ʒɛn.t͡ʃəl/ (UK)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- Proto-Italic *tangō Latin tangō Latin tangēns Latin tangentembor. English tangent Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisder. Old French -ialder. Middle English -ial English -ial English tangential From tangent + -ial.

Meanings

1. Referring to a tangent, moving at a tangent to something.
   • The meteor came in on a tangential orbit and exploded about 8 or 10 miles above the earth's surface, just south of the Arctic Circle. 2002, Edward Teller, Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics, page 560:
   • A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever. 2012 March 14, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
2. Merely touching, positioned as a tangent.
   • The archoplasm divides and forms a very large spindle which first lies tangential to the surface of the nucleus. 1898, Gary Nathan Calkins, Mitosis in Noctiluca miliaris and its bearing on the nuclear relations of the Protozoa and Metazoa, Ph.D. Thesis, page 3
3. Only indirectly related.
   • That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.

Forms

Deriveds

tangential triangle · tangential velocity · tangentiality · nontangential · untangential · bitangential · equitangential · tangentialize · tangentially

Relateds

tangental · tangent

Synonyms

tangent · incidental

Translations (31)

cs okrajový (only indirectly related) · de nebensächlich (only indirectly related) · de tangential (merely touching) · ru касающийся (merely touching) · es tangencial (only indirectly related) · fi tangentiaalinen (referring to a tangent) · ru касательный (referring to a tangent) · es tangencial (referring to a tangent) · ca tangencial (referring to a tangent) · fi etäisesti liittyvä (only indirectly related) · ro tangențial (referring to a tangent) · vi (thuộc) tiếp tuyến (referring to a tangent) · ru имеющий слабое отноше́ние (only indirectly related) · eo tanĝanta (merely touching) · eo parenteza (only indirectly related) · ca tangencial (only indirectly related) · it tangenziale (merely touching) · de tangential (referring to a tangent) · pt tangente (merely touching) · it tangenziale (only indirectly related) · fi sivuava (merely touching) · fi tangentiaalinen (merely touching) · ru тангенциальный (referring to a tangent) · eo tanĝanta (referring to a tangent) · ru отклоня́ющийся (only indirectly related) · de berührend (merely touching) · de streifend (merely touching) · cs tečnový (referring to a tangent) · fi epäolennainen (only indirectly related) · fi tangentiaalinen (only indirectly related) · it tangenziale (referring to a tangent)