tangent
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tangent
- /ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/
Rhymes with -ændʒənt
Where it comes from
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.
noun tangents
-
A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
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 tange
Similar: tangent line
- 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.
- A course suddenly and unexpectedly divergent from one which was previously being followed (especially one embarked on before reaching the end of the previous course).
- A new topic of discussion unrelated to the one which came before it, arrived at due to a single (peripheral or trivial) 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.
- 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.
- A small metal blade in a clavichord or other instrument that strikes the strings to produce sound.
adjective
- Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
-
Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
Similar: tangential
- Straight; not horizontally curved. The collision occurred on a two-mile stretch of tangent track.
verb tangents · tangenting · tangented
-
Synonym of fly off at a tangent (“to digress from a topic”).
OK. Did that have anything to do with what I was saying? I just wanna know if you're tangenting or making an oblique connection I'm missing.
Similar: fly off at a tangent
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: paper, tangential, digression, getaway, lam, shear, excursion, aside, departure, deviation, divergence, detour, stray, swerve, discursion, diversion
Translations
Every language
noun in trigonometry
| Español | tangente |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 탄젠트 tanjenteu |
| 日本語 | タンジェント tanjento, 正接 seisetsu |
| 中文 | 正切 zhèngqiē |
| Português | tangente |
| Français | tangente |
| Deutsch | Tangens |
| Italiano | tangente |
| Ελληνικά | εφαπτομένη efaptoméni |
| Română | tangentă |
| Русский | та́нгенс tángens |
| Tiếng Việt | tang |
| العربية | ظِلّ الزَّاوِيَة ẓill az-zāwiya |
| עברית | טנגנס tangens |
noun in geometry
| Español | tangente |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 접선 jeopseon |
| 日本語 | 接線 sessen |
| 中文 | 切線 /切线 qiēxiàn |
| हिन्दी | स्पर्शरेखा sparśarekhā |
| Português | tangente |
| Français | tangente |
| Deutsch | Tangente |
| Italiano | tangente |
| Ελληνικά | εφαπτομένη efaptoméni |
| Română | tangentă |
| Русский | каса́тельная kasátelʹnaja |
| Tiếng Việt | tiếp tuyến |
| العربية | مُمَاسّ mumāss |
noun nearly unrelated topic
| Deutsch | Nebensache |
|---|---|
| Русский | отклоне́ние от те́мы otklonénije ot témy, отступле́ние otstuplénije, побо́чная те́ма pobóčnaja téma, де́бри débri, каки́е-то де́бри kakíje-to débri, не в ту степь ne v tu stepʹ |
Talk about this word "tangent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tangent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tangent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tangent "tangent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tangent.Cite this
@misc{tangent_2026,
title = {tangent},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tangent},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
