catenary

[ kat-n-er-ee; especially British kuh-tee-nuh-ree ]

/ ˈkæt nˌɛr i; especially British kəˈti nə ri /

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noun, plural cat·e·nar·ies.

Mathematics. the curve assumed approximately by a heavy uniform cord or chain hanging freely from two points not in the same vertical line. Equation: y = kcosh(x/k).

(in electric railroads) the cable, running above the track, from which the trolley wire is suspended.

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a catenary.

of or relating to a chain or linked series.

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Origin of catenary

1780–90; <Latin catēnārius relating to a chain, equivalent to catēn(a) a chain + -ārius-ary

Words nearby catenary

category management, category mistake, catena, catenaccio, catenane, catenary, catenate, catenation, catenoid, catenulate, cater

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use catenary in a sentence

In late works from 2019, a skeleton holds an oversize skull over his groin, and in other works, based on a string draped into a catenary curve, the repetition of the motif creates a veil.
Seeing Jasper Johns: Blockbuster exhibition reveals a brilliant but bleak legacy|Philip Kennicott|September 29, 2021|Washington Post
Replacement of track infrastructure, and the electric catenary poles and wires and the signal systems, is work that goes on every year.
A commission has a $117 billion plan to modernize the Northeast Corridor. Here’s how it improves passenger rail.|Luz Lazo|September 9, 2021|Washington Post
The surface formed by revolving the catenary about its directrix is named the alysseide.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5|Various
How to pass this snow catenary I knew not, for I did not think a human foot could trust itself upon so frail a support.
Hours of Exercise in the Alps|John Tyndall

Soon after recrossing the snow catenary already mentioned we quitted the ridge to get obliquely along the slope of the pyramid.
Hours of Exercise in the Alps|John Tyndall
The only surface of revolution having this property is the catenoid formed by the revolution of a catenary about its directrix.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3|Various
One of the most laborious and practically useful works of Giddy was a treatise on the properties of the Catenary Curve.
Cornish Characters|S. Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for catenary

catenary

/ (kəˈtiːnərɪ) /

noun plural -ries

the curve assumed by a heavy uniform flexible cord hanging freely from two points. When symmetrical about the y- axis and intersecting it at y = a, the equation is y = a cosh x / a

the hanging cable between pylons along a railway track, from which the trolley wire is suspended

adjective Also: catenarian (ˌkætɪˈnɛərɪən)

of, resembling, relating to, or constructed using a catenary or suspended chain

Word Origin for catenary

C18: from Latin catēnārius relating to a chain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

catenary

Origin of catenary

Words nearby catenary

Words related to catenary

How to use catenary in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for catenary

Word Origin for catenary