tangent

adjtouching

Word Origin & History

1590s, "meeting at a point without intersecting," from Latin tangentem (nominative tangens), present participle of tangere "to touch," from PIE root *tag- "to touch, to handle" (cf. Latin tactus "touch," Greek tetagon "having seized," Old English þaccian "stroke, strike gently"). First used by Danish mathematician Thomas Fincke in "Geomietria Rotundi" (1583). Extended sense of "slightly connected with a subject" is first recorded 1825. The noun also is attested from 1590s.

Example Sentences for tangent

His conversation when he does not fly off at a tangent is full of pith and idea.

But, look out, fellow strollers, for we are off in a tangent!

The mere thought of the hospital sent her mind flying off at a tangent.

There wasn't a half mile of tangent at a single stretch in the whole of it.

The complement of the logarithm of a sine, tangent, or secant.

Or thus: if it ...

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Synonyms for tangent

adj touching

tangent

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tangent

Synonyms for tangent

More words related to tangent

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blind alley

deviating

excursus

grade

grades

aside