ordinate

[awr-dn-it, -eyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ordinate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Mathematics. (in plane Cartesian coordinates) the y-coordinate of a point: its distance from the x-axis measured parallel to the y-axis.

Compare abscissa.

Origin of ordinate

1670–80; extracted from New Latin (līnea) ordināte (applicāta) (line applied) in order; ordināte (adv.), derivative of Latin ordinātus arranged. See ordination

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ordinate

touch, follow, score, adjoin, authorize, appoint, require, direct, tell, bound, rank, rim, verge, array, skirt, underline, cut, group, fix, draw

Examples from the Web for ordinate

Historical Examples of ordinate

The position MX on the ordinate marks the beginning of the second period.
Essay on the Creative Imagination
Th. Ribot
Of three angles of an ordinate quinquangle, is made the angle of a Dodecahedrum.
The Way To Geometry
Peter Ramus
This upper branch of the curve is not shown in the figure, as the ordinate corresponding to 30 would be very great.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications
Alexander Findlay
The ordinate is the correction to be added to the observed reading to reduce to a uniform scale.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1
Various
A curve is thus obtained, the ordinate representing growth elongation and the abscissa the time.
Life Movements in Plants
Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for ordinate

ordinate

noun

the vertical or y -coordinate of a point in a two-dimensional system of Cartesian coordinatesCompare abscissa See also Cartesian coordinates

Word Origin for ordinate

C16: from New Latin phrase (linea) ordināte (applicāta) (line applied) in an orderly manner, from ordināre to arrange in order

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

Word Origin and History for ordinate

adj.

late 14c., from Latin ordinatus, past participle of ordinare "arrange, set in order" (see ordain). Related: Ordinately.

1560s, from Latin ordinatus, past participle of ordinare "arrange, set in order" (see ordain). Related: Ordinated; ordinating.

ordinate in Medicine

ordinate

[ôr′dn-ĭt, -āt′]

n.

The plane Cartesian coordinate representing the distance from a specified point to the x-axis, measured parallel to the y-axis.

ordinate in Science

ordinate

[ôr′dn-ĭt]

The distance of a point from the x-axis on a graph in the Cartesian coordinate system. It is measured parallel to the y-axis. For example, a point having coordinates (2,3) has 3 as its ordinate. Compare abscissa.