cosecant

[ koh-see-kuhnt, -kant ]

noun

, Trigonometry.

1. (in a right triangle) the ratio of the hypotenuse to the side opposite a given angle.
2. the secant of the complement, or the reciprocal of the sine, of a given angle or arc. : csc

cosecant

/ kəʊˈsiːkənt /

noun

1. (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 opposite side; the reciprocal of sine cosec

cosecant

/ kō-sē′kănt′ /

1. The ratio of the length of the hypotenuse in a right triangle to the length of the side opposite an acute angle. The cosecant is the inverse of the sine.
2. The reciprocal of 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 cosecant of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cosecant¹

First recorded in 1700–10, cosecant is from the New Latin word cosecant- (stem of cosecāns ). See co-, secant

Example Sentences

Seated at the same table as herself was a skilful sailor, using logarithms, secants and cosecants, polar distances and hour angles, as if he were in some university class-room.

From Project Gutenberg