cotangent
Americannoun
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(in a right triangle) the ratio of the side adjacent to a given angle to the side opposite.
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the tangent of the complement, or the reciprocal of the tangent, of a given angle or arc. cot, ctn
noun
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The ratio of the length of the adjacent side of an acute angle in a right triangle to the length of the opposite side. The cotangent is the inverse of the tangent.
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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.
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A function of a number x, equal to the cotangent of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cotangent
First recorded in 1625–35, cotangent is from the New Latin word cotangent- (stem of cotangēns ). See co-, tangent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tangent and cotangent functions have period π.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
We can interpret the cotangent of a negative angle as Cotangent is therefore an odd function, which means that for all in the domain of the cotangent function.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
Where the graph of the tangent function decreases, the graph of the cotangent function increases.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
The cotangent identity, also follows from the sine and cosine identities.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
The secant, cotangent, and cosecant are all reciprocals of other functions.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
