cotangent Hear it!

cotangent definition

co·tan·gent (kō tan′jənt, kō′tan′-)

noun

Trigonometry the reciprocal of the tangent; specif.
  1. the ratio of the adjacent side of a given acute angle in a right triangle to the opposite side
  2. 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.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.