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tangent
(redirected from tangencies)

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
tan·gent  (tnjnt)
adj.
1. Making contact at a single point or along a line; touching but not intersecting.
2. Irrelevant.
n.
1. A line, curve, or surface meeting another line, curve, or surface at a common point and sharing a common tangent line or tangent plane at that point.
2. Abbr. tan Mathematics The trigonometric function of an acute angle in a right triangle that is the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the side adjacent to the angle.
3. A sudden digression or change of course: went off on a tangent during the courtroom argument.
4. Music An upright pin in a keyboard instrument, especially in a clavichord, that rises to sound a string when a key is depressed and stops the string at a preset length to set the pitch.

[Latin (lnea) tangns, tangent-, touching (line), present participle of tangere, to touch; see tag- in Indo-European roots.]
click for a larger image
tangent
tan = a/b

tangent [ˈtændʒənt]
n
1. (Mathematics) a geometric line, curve, plane, or curved surface that touches another curve or surface at one point but does not intersect it
2. (Mathematics) (of an angle) a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to that of the adjacent side; the ratio of sine to cosine Abbreviation tan
3. (Mathematics & Measurements / Surveying) the straight part on a survey line between curves
4. (Music, other) Music a part of the action of a clavichord consisting of a small piece of metal that strikes the string to produce a note
on or at a tangent on a completely different or divergent course, esp of thought to go off at a tangent
adj
1. (Mathematics)
a.  of or involving a tangent
b.  touching at a single point
2. touching
3. almost irrelevant
[from Latin phrase līnea tangēns the touching line, from tangere to touch]
tangency  n

tangent  (tnjnt)
1. A line, curve, or surface touching but not intersecting another.
2. The ratio of the length of the side opposite an acute angle in a right triangle to the side adjacent to the angle. The tangent of an angle is equal to the sine of the angle divided by the cosine of the angle.
3. The ratio of the ordinate to the abscissa of the endpoint of an arc of a unit circle centered at the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system, the arc being of length x and measured counterclockwise from the point (1, 0) if x is positive or clockwise if x is negative.
4. A function of a number x, equal to the tangent of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.tangenttangent - a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point
straight line - a line traced by a point traveling in a constant direction; a line of zero curvature; "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line"
2.tangent - ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle
circular function, trigonometric function - function of an angle expressed as a ratio of the length of the sides of right-angled triangle containing the angle
Translations
tangent [ˈtændʒənt] N (Geom) → tangente f
to go or fly off at a tangentsalirse por la tangente

tangent [ˈtændʒənt] n
(MATHEMATICS)tangente f
(fig) to go off at a tangent → bifurquer

tangent
n (Math) → Tangente f; to go off at a tangent (fig)(plötzlich) vom Thema abkommen or abschweifen; he went off at a tangent about flowerser schweifte plötzlich ab und fing an, über Blumen zu reden

tangent [ˈtændʒnt] n (Geom) → tangente f
to go off at a tangent (fig) → partire per la tangente
tangent [ˈtændʒnt] n (Geom) → tangente f
to go off at a tangent (fig) → partire per la tangente

tangent
n tangent [ˈtӕndʒənt]
a line that touches a curve but does not cut it. raaklyn مُماس، ظِل الزاوِيَه допирателна tečna tangent die Tangente εφαπτομένη tangente puutuja مماس tangentti tangente מֵשִיק स्पर्श रेखा tangenta, dodirnica érintővonal garis singgung snertill, snertilína tangente 接線 접선 liestinė tangente tangen raaklijn tangent styczna tangente tangentă касательная dotyčnica tangenta tangenta tangent เส้นตรงหรือเส้นโค้งที่สัมผัสกับเส้นตรง/โค้งอื่นแต่ไม่ตัดกัน teğet 切線 тангенс لائن جو کسي سطح سے گزرے مگر قطع نہ کرتي ہو đường tiếp tuyến 线
go off at a tangent
to go off suddenly in another direction or on a different line of thought, action etc It is difficult to have a sensible conversation with her, as she keeps going off at a tangent. van koers verander يَشُطُّ عن المَوضوع отплесвам се odbočit od tématu ryge ud ad en tangent plötzlich den Gegenstand wechseln αλλάζω απότομα θέμα salir por la tangente, irse por los cerros de Úbeda (teemast) kõrvale hüppama ناگهان تغییر جهت دادن poiketa asiasta yllättäen prendre la tangente לִסטוֹת פִּתאוֹם מִן הַנוֹשֵׂא अचानक विषय बदल लेना naglo se udaljiti od teme razgovora hirtelen más tárgyra tér menyimpang skipta skyndilega um stefnu/umræðuefni (partire per la tangente) わき道にそれる 갑자기 옆으로 빗나가다 nukrypti (nuo temos), pasukti/mestis į kitą pusę pēkšņi mainīt tēmu; negaidīti dīvaini izturēties menyimpang een gedachtesprong maken komme bort fra emnet nagle zmieniać temat/kierunek itd. sair pela tangente a sări de la una la alta внезапно отклоняться (от темы) odbočiť od témy skreniti drugam naglo promeniti temu hoppa över till ngt annat ผลุนผลันออกไปในเส้นทางอื่นหรือแนวความคิดที่ต่างกัน birden konu/fikir/söz değiştirmek 突然改變方向(或話題) раптом відхилитися ايک موضوع سے دوسرے موضوع ميں جانا đi lạc chủ đề


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