abscissa

American  

[ab-sis-uh] / æbˈsɪs ə /

noun

Mathematics.

plural

abscissas, abscissae

1. (in plane Cartesian coordinates) the x-coordinate of a point: its distance from the y-axis measured parallel to the x-axis.

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abscissa British  

/ æbˈsɪsə /

noun

1. the horizontal or x -coordinate of a point in a two-dimensional system of Cartesian coordinates. It is the distance from the y -axis measured parallel to the x -axis Compare ordinate

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abscissa Scientific  

/ ăb-sĭs′ə /

plural

abscissas

1. The distance of a point from the y-axis on a graph in the Cartesian coordinate system. It is measured parallel to the x-axis. For example, a point having coordinates (2,3) has 2 as its abscissa.

2. Compare ordinate

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Etymology

Origin of abscissa

1690–1700; feminine of Latin abscissus (past participle of abscindere to abscind )

Compare meaning

How does abscissa compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• ordinate vs. abscissa

Example Sentences

A gloomy year it was, brightened only by occasional interviews with Abscissa, the Abbie of my thoughts and dreams.

From Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 by James, Henry

Absciss, ab′sis, Abscissa, ab-sis′sa, n. the straight line cut off or intercepted between the vertex of a curve and an ordinate, measured along the principal axis:—pl.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Abscissa Surd was as perfectly symmetrical as Giotto's circle, and as pure, withal, as the mathematics her father taught.

From Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 by James, Henry

Abscissa had gone to Wheelborough to visit a school-friend.

From Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 by James, Henry

I saw it perfectly; much plainer, perhaps, for his putting in the clause about Abscissa.

From Stories by American Authors, Volume 5 by James, Henry