secant

American  

[see-kant, -kuhnt] / ˈsi kænt, -kənt /

noun

1. Geometry. an intersecting line, especially one intersecting a curve at two or more points.

2. Trigonometry.

   1. (in a right triangle) the ratio of the hypotenuse to the side adjacent to a given angle.

   2. (originally) a line from the center of a circle through one extremity of an arc to the tangent from the other extremity.

   3. the ratio of the length of this line to that of the radius of the circle; the reciprocal of the cosine of a given angle or arc. sec

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adjective

1. cutting or intersecting, as one line or surface in relation to another.

secant British  

/ ˈsiːkənt /

noun

1.  sec.  (of an angle) a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to that of the adjacent side; the reciprocal of cosine

2. a line that intersects a curve

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secant Scientific  

/ sē′kănt′ /

1. A straight line or ray that intersects a curve, especially a circle, at two or more points.

2. The ratio of the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle to the side adjacent to an acute angle. The secant is the inverse of the cosine.

3. The reciprocal of 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.

4. A function of a number x, equal to the secant of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x.

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Other Word Forms

• secantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of secant

1585–95; < Latin secant- (stem of secāns, present participle of secāre to cut), equivalent to sec- verb stem ( saw ¹ ) + -ant- -ant

Example Sentences

We can calculate the slope of the secant line by dividing the difference in z-values by the length of the line segment connecting the two points in the domain.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

For the following exercises, use the secant method, an alternative iterative method to Newton’s method.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Example 2.1 illustrates how to find slopes of secant lines.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Furthermore, to find the slope of a tangent line at a point a, we let the x-values approach a in the slope of the secant line.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

An angle formed by two secants, a secant and a tangent, or two tangents, drawn to a circle from an external point, is measured by half the difference of the intercepted arcs.

From The Teaching of Geometry by Smith, David Eugene