asymptote
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asymptote
- /ˈæsɪmptəʊ̯t/ UK
- [ˈæsɪmtəʊ̯t] UK
- /ˈæsɪmtɒt/ UK
- /ˈæsɪmptoʊ̯t/ Canada, US
- [ˈæsɪmtoʊ̯t] Canada, US
- /ˈeɪ̯sɪmtoʊ̯t/ Canada, US
Where it comes from
circa 1650, from Ancient Greek ἀσύμπτωτη (asúmptōtē), the feminine of Apollonius Pergaeus' (circa 200 BC) Ancient Greek adjective ἀσύμπτωτος (asúmptōtos, “not falling together”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + συν- (sun-, “together”) + πτωτός (ptōtós, “fallen”). See also a-, syn-, -ote.
noun asymptotes
- A straight line which a curve approaches arbitrarily closely as it goes to infinity. The limit of the curve; its tangent "at infinity". The King rushed forward with all his cruel coordinates and mean values, stumbled into a dark forest of roots and logarithms, had to backtrack, then encountered the beast on a field of irrational numbers (F₁) and smote it so grievously that it fell two decimal places and lost an epsilon, but the beas
- Anything which comes near to but never meets something else. Language, in relation to thought, must ever be regarded as an asymptote.
verb asymptotes · asymptoting · asymptoted
- To approach, but never quite touch, a straight line, as something goes to infinity. 2006: Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Perimeter of Ignorance As you become more scientific, yes, the religiosity drops off, but it asymptotes.
Translations
Every language
noun a straight line which a curve approaches arbitrarily closely
| Español | asíntota |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 漸近線 zenkinsen |
| हिन्दी | अनंतस्पर्शी anantsparśī |
| Português | assíntota, assímptota, assintota, assimptota |
| Français | asymptote |
| Deutsch | Asymptote |
| Italiano | asintoto |
| Ελληνικά | ασύμπτωτος asýmptotos |
| Română | asimptotă |
| Русский | асимпто́та asimptóta |
| עברית | אָסִימְפְּטוֹטָה asimptotá |
Talk about this word "asymptote." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/asymptote. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. asymptote. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/asymptote "asymptote." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/asymptote.Cite this
@misc{asymptote_2026,
title = {asymptote},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/asymptote},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
