sine

[sahyn]

noun

1. Trigonometry.

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

   2. (of an angle) a trigonometric function equal to the ratio of the ordinate of the end point of the arc to the radius vector of this end point, the origin being at the center of the circle on which the arc lies and the initial point of the arc being on the x-axis. sin

2. Geometry.,  (originally) a perpendicular line drawn from one extremity of an arc of a circle to the diameter that passes through its other extremity.

3. Mathematics.,  (of a real or complex numberx ) the function sin x defined by the infinite series x − (x 3 /3!) + (x 5 /5!) − + …, where ! denotes factorial.

sine

¹

/ saɪn /

noun

1. sin. 

   1. a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to that of the hypotenuse

   2. a function that in a circle centred at the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system is the ratio of the ordinate of a point on the circumference to the radius of the circle

sine

²

/ ˈsaɪnɪ /

preposition

1. (esp in Latin phrases or legal terms) lacking; without

sine

1. The ratio of the length of the side opposite an acute angle in a right triangle to the length of the hypotenuse.

2. The ordinate 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.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sine¹

1585–95; < New Latin, Latin sinus a curve, fold, pocket, translation of Arabic jayb literally, pocket, by folk etymology < Sanskrit jiyā, jyā chord of an arc, literally, bowstring

Word History and Origins

Origin of sine¹

C16: from Latin sinus a bend; in New Latin, sinus was mistaken as a translation of Arabic jiba sine (from Sanskrit jīva, literally: bowstring) because of confusion with Arabic jaib curve

Example Sentences

And my oldest students were swept away into the mysteries of sine, cosine, and tangents.

Read more on Literature

In fact, the history of whaling on its own disproves the central point of “The Killing Age,” that guns were a sine qua non for the making of the modern world.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“But now speed and maneuverability are the sine qua non.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Fosse suggests, through the Emcee, that though the West’s relationship to queerness may bear the pattern of a sine wave, the Grande Human Cabaret can never metaphorically or spiritually close.

Read more on Salon

The photo-op had supplanted policy as the sine qua non of political discourse.

Read more on Los Angeles Times