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hypotenuse

[ hahy-pot-n-oos, -yoos ]

noun

, Geometry.
  1. the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.


hypotenuse

/ haɪˈpɒtɪˌnjuːz /

noun

  1. the side in a right-angled triangle that is opposite the right angle hyp
“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

hypotenuse

/ hī-pŏtn-o̅o̅s′ /

  1. The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle. It is the longest side, and the square of its length is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.

hypotenuse

  1. In a right triangle (a triangle that has one right angle ), the side opposite the right angle. ( See Pythagorean theorem .)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hypotenuse1

1565–75; earlier hypotenusa < Latin hypotēnūsa < Greek hypoteínousa ( grámmē ) subtending (line) (feminine present participle of hypoteínein to subtend), equivalent to hypo- hypo- + tein- stretch ( thin ) + -ousa feminine present participle suffix
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hypotenuse1

C16: from Latin hypotēnūsa, from Greek hupoteinousa grammē subtending line, from hupoteinein to subtend, from hypo- + teinein to stretch
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Example Sentences

"What would they do to a slave who knew what a hypotenuse was, what irony meant, how retribution was spelled?"

From BBC

The hypotenuse of that triangle then has the length √2.

No one is ever going to ask you about a hypotenuse when you get out of school.

From Salon

The quantity c is the length of the longest side, called the hypotenuse.

Its strangeness lay in how Leonardo’s sketch showed an adjoining pitcher and, pouring from its spout, a series of circles that formed the triangle’s hypotenuse.

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