tangent

Borrowed from Latin tangentem, the accusative of tangēns (“touching”) (in the phrase līnea tangēns (“a touching line”)), the present participle of the verb tangō (“touch”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tangō, from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to touch”).

Cognate with Old English þaccian (“to touch lightly, pat, stroke”). More at thack, thwack.

• enPR: tăn'jənt, IPA^(key): /ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænd͡ʒənt

tangent (plural tangents)

1. (differential geometry) A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
   • 1951 May, “British Railways Standard Coaches”, in Railway Magazine, page 327:

     One feature of the body, which is constructed of pressed-steel members, is the contour of the sides. They are in the form of a continuous radius from the bottom side to the cant rail, and to enable flat glass windows to be fitted the side panels are pressed around the window opening, forming a tangent to the curved bodyside.

   Synonym: tangent line

2. (mathematics) A function of an angle that gives the ratio of the sine to the cosine, in either the real or complex numbers. Symbols: tan, tg.
3. A topic nearly unrelated to the main topic, but having a point in common with it.

   I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.

   • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well Tackled!‎:

     “Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”

   • 2009: Stuart Heritage, Hecklerspray, Friday the 22^nd of May in 2009 at 1 o’clock p.m., “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”

     Jon & Kate Plus 8 is a show based on two facts: (1) Jon and Kate Gosselin have eight children, and (2) the word ‘Kate’ rhymes with the word ‘eight’. One suspects that if Kate were ever to have another child, a shady network executive would urge her to put it in a binbag with a brick and drop it down a well. But this is just a horrifying tangent.

4. (art) A visual interaction between two or more lines or edges that creates a perceived relationship between them, often in a way that the artist did not intend.
5. (music) A small metal blade in a clavichord that strikes the strings to produce sound.

• tangential

tangent (not comparable)

1. (geometry) Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
2. Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
3. (rail transport, of track) Straight; not horizontally curved.

   The collision occurred on a two-mile stretch of tangent track.

• tangently

• cosine
• non sequitur
• sine
• trigonometry

Borrowed from Latin tangentem.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [təɲˈʒen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [təɲˈʒent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [taɲˈd͡ʒent]

tangent f (plural tangents)

1. (trigonometry) tangent

• cotangent

• “tangent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Ultimately from Latin tangēns; cf. German Tangente.

tangent c (singular definite tangenten, plural indefinite tangenter)

1. (geometry) tangent

   Differentialregning kan fortolkes som forsøget på at bestemme en tangents hældning.

   Differential calculus may be interpreted as the attempt to determine the slope of a tangent.

2. piano key

• tangens
• tangerende
• tangere

• “tangent” in Den Danske Ordbog

Borrowed from Latin tangentem.

• IPA^(key): /tɑ̃.ʒɑ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

tangent (feminine tangente, masculine plural tangents, feminine plural tangentes)

1. (mathematics) tangential
2. borderline

• “tangent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈtan.ɡent/, [ˈt̪äŋɡɛn̪t̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈtan.d͡ʒent/, [ˈt̪än̠ʲd͡ʒen̪t̪]

tangent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of tangō

From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.

tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangenter, definite plural tangentene)

1. (geometry) tangent
2. (music) key (e.g., on a piano)

• “tangent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.

tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangentar, definite plural tangentane)

1. (geometry) tangent
2. (music) key (e.g., on a piano)

• “tangent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Borrowed from French tangent, Latin tangēns, tangentem.

tangent m or n (feminine singular tangentă, masculine plural tangenți, feminine and neuter plural tangente)

1. tangent

Ultimately from Latin tangēns; cf. German Tangente.

tangent c

1. key (button on a typewriter, computer keyboard or piano)
2. (mathematics) tangent

• tangens
• tangentbord