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Webster's New World College Dictionary » cotangent
cotangent
cotangent definition
co·tan·gent (kō tan′jənt, kō′tan′-)
noun
Trigonometry the reciprocal of the tangent; specif.
- the ratio of the adjacent side of a given acute angle in a right triangle to the opposite side
- an equivalent, positive or negative ratio for certain related angles (Ex.: the cotangent of 57° or 237° is .6494, of 123° or 303° is −.6494) or real numbers representing radians (Ex.: the cotangent of .9948 radians (57°) is .6494)
Etymology: ModL cotangens < co. tangens, short for complementi tangens, lit., tangent of the complement
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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