Advertisement
Advertisement
cotangent
[ koh-tan-juhnt, koh-tan- ]
noun
, Trigonometry.
- (in a right triangle) the ratio of the side adjacent to a given angle to the side opposite.
- the tangent of the complement, or the reciprocal of the tangent, of a given angle or arc. : cot, ctn
cotangent
/ ˌkəʊtænˈdʒɛnʃəl; kəʊˈtændʒənt /
noun
- (of an angle) a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the adjacent side to that of the opposite side; the reciprocal of tangent Abbreviationcotcotanctn
cotangent
/ kō-tăn′jənt /
- The ratio of the length of the adjacent side of an acute angle in a right triangle to the length of the opposite side. The cotangent is the inverse of the tangent.
- The ratio of the ordinate to the abscissa 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.
- A function of a number x, equal to the cotangent of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x.
Discover More
Derived Forms
- cotangential, adjective
Discover More
Other Words From
- co·tan·gen·tial [koh-tan-, jen, -sh, uh, l], adjective
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of cotangent1
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse