Cartesian coordinate system

[kär-tē′zhən]

A system in which the location of a point is given by coordinates that represent its distances from perpendicular lines that intersect at a point called the origin. A Cartesian coordinate system in a plane has two perpendicular lines (the x-axis and y-axis); in three-dimensional space, it has three (the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis). Compare polar coordinate system.