Cartesian coordinate

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. Usually Cartesian coordinates a member of a system of coordinates for locating a point on a plane Cartesian plane by its distance from each of two intersecting lines, or in space by its distance from each of three planes intersecting at a point.

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Etymology

Origin of Cartesian coordinate

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Cartesian coordinate

This section presents a natural extension of the two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate plane into three dimensions.

From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016

The Cartesian coordinate system provides a straightforward way to describe the location of points in space.

From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016

The Cartesian coordinate system, also called the rectangular coordinate system, is based on a two-dimensional plane consisting of the x-axis and the y-axis.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

While there is evidence that ideas similar to Descartes’ grid system existed centuries earlier, it was Descartes who introduced the components that comprise the Cartesian coordinate system, a grid system having perpendicular axes.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

In contrast to Pierre L’Enfant’s grandiose national capital, the street commissioners adopted what Reuben Skye Rose-Redwood, a geographer and expert on the grid, described as “a physical representation of the Cartesian coordinate system.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2011