subsecantn.
/ˈsʌbsiːk(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˈsəbˌsikænt/, /ˈsəbˌsik(ə)nt/ Mathematics. Now rare.
In Cartesian coordinates: the part of the x-axis lying between the two points where it is cut by a secant of a curve and by a perpendicular drawn from the point where the secant cuts the curve to the x-axis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > geometric space > [noun] > division or marking of > axis > part of
absciss1692
abscissa1694
subtangent1702
subnormal1704
subsecant1734
1734 G. Berkeley Analyst 38 Supposing NO to be infinitely diminished, the subsecant NM will in that case coincide with the subtangent NL.
1816 tr. S. F. Lacroix Elem. Treat. Differential & Integral Calculus 655 Its subtangent P T must consequently be less than one of the subsecants.
a1865 W. R. Hamilton Elem. Quaternions (1866) iii. ii. 424 Prolonging then (if necessary) the chord Yy of the first curve, to meet the axis of abscissæ in some point t, and so to determine the a subsecant tX.
2008 J. C. Domingues Lacroix & Calculus iv. 115 The calculation of the ratio between the ordinate and the subtangent of a parabola as the limit of the ratios between the ordinate and the subsecants.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1734