# catenary
## English
### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /kəˈtiːnəɹi/, /kəˈtɛnəɹi/
* (US) IPA: /ˈkætəˌnɛɹi/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Etymology 1

From Latin catenarius, from Latin catēna (“chain”).

#### Adjective

catenary (comparative more catenary, superlative most catenary)
* Relating to a chain; like a chain.
** 1997, S.A.M. Adshead, Material Culture in Europe and China, 1400–1800: The Rise of Consumerism, →ISBN:In Europe, the organizer was the hostess and her principle was catenary.
** 1983, Keith Godfrey, Compartmental Models and Their Application, page 242:The structure of the model chosen was catenary, and only one nonlinearity was introduced, in that part of the model representing bone growth.
* Relating to a catena.
** 1960, Kenya. Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Survey of the Songhor Area, Kenya, page 93:The sequence of soils of a more or less catenary nature as seen on the Martin Estate is about as follows :

##### Derived terms

* polycatenary

### Etymology 2

From Late Latin catenaria, in turn from Latin catēna (“chain”). Attested since 1788.

#### Noun

catenary (plural catenaries)
* (geometry) The curve described by a flexible chain or a rope if it is supported at each end and is acted upon by no other forces than a uniform gravitational force due to its own weight and variations involving additional and non-uniform forces. It is described by the hyperbolic cosine function.
* (engineering) Any physical cable, rope, chain, or other weight-supporting structure taking such geometric shape, as a suspension cable for a bridge or a power-transmission line or an arch for a bridge or roof.
* (nautical) The curve of an anchor cable from the seabed to the vessel; it should be horizontal at the anchor so as to bury the flukes.
* (transport) A cable, the segments of which between supports take a catenary geometric shape, supporting in turn an overhead conductor that provides trains, trams or trolley buses with electricity, or the combination of the conductor, the cable, and supports.
** 1958, The Railway Review: An Intelligent Survey of Transit News and Trends:The result was catenary being torn down several hundred feet at a time.
** 1962 April, P. W. B. Semmens, “The Netherlands Railways today”, in Modern Railways, page 241:The colour-lights showed up much better than the semaphores which, in spite of their approach warning boards, are not readily visible at any distance between the supports for the catenaries.
** 1977, Paul Castelhun Trimble, Interurban Railways of the Bay Area, page 119:The electric overhead was catenary, using 0000 contact wire, and the new railway employed the latest in electric block signal systems.
** 1995, The Channel Tunnel: Transport systems, →ISBN, page 22:In addition the catenary itself is divided into 1-2 km sections (corresponding to mechanical sections or tension lengths) with motorized remotely controlled sectioning off-load isolators such that only one train is likely to be immobilized at any one time as a result of an incident associated with the catenary system.
** 2009, Jan Young, Studebaker and the Railroads, volume 2, page 47:Overhead construction was catenary rather than a single wire to allow the use of pantographs instead of trolley poles so that speeds could be higher.

##### Synonyms

* (geometry): alysoid, chainette

##### Derived terms

* catenary bridge

##### Gallery

* Diagram of geometric representation of catenaries
* Example of a buoy floating in the water with the mooring lines being in catenary curve shapes
* Catenary cable for a railroad line.

##### Further reading

* catenary on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Weighted catenary on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Catenary arch on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Overhead catenary (transportation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia