# tangent
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tangentem, the accusative of tangēns (“touching”) (in the phrase līnea tangēns (“a touching line”)), the present participle of the verb tangō (“touch”, verb), from Proto-Italic *tangō, from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to touch”).
Cognate with Old English þaccian (“to touch lightly, pat, stroke”). More at thack, thwack.

### Pronunciation

* enPR: tăn'jənt, IPA: /ˈtæn.d͡ʒənt/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ænd͡ʒənt

### Noun

tangent (plural tangents)
* (differential geometry) A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
** 1951 May, “British Railways Standard Coaches”, in Railway Magazine, page 327:One feature of the body, which is constructed of pressed-steel members, is the contour of the sides. They are in the form of a continuous radius from the bottom side to the cant rail, and to enable flat glass windows to be fitted the side panels are pressed around the window opening, forming a tangent to the curved bodyside.
    Synonym: tangent line
* (mathematics) A function of an angle that gives the ratio of the sine to the cosine, in either the real or complex numbers. Symbols: tan, tg.
* A topic nearly unrelated to the main topic, but having a point in common with it.
    I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.
** 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 1, in Well Tackled!‎:“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”
** 2009: Stuart Heritage, Hecklerspray, Friday the 22nd of May in 2009 at 1 o’clock p.m., “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”
    Jon & Kate Plus 8 is a show based on two facts: (1) Jon and Kate Gosselin have eight children, and (2) the word ‘Kate’ rhymes with the word ‘eight’. One suspects that if Kate were ever to have another child, a shady network executive would urge her to put it in a binbag with a brick and drop it down a well. But this is just a horrifying tangent.
* (art) A visual interaction between two or more lines or edges that creates a perceived relationship between them, often in a way that the artist did not intend.
* (music) A small metal blade in a clavichord that strikes the strings to produce sound.

#### Derived terms

* arctangent
* cotangent
* fly off at a tangent
* go off at a tangent
* go off on a tangent
* hyperbolic tangent
* inflectional tangent
* inverse tangent
* tangent bundle
* tangent plane
* tangent space

#### Related terms

* tangential

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Adjective

tangent (not comparable)
* (geometry) Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
* Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
* (rail transport, of track) Straight; not horizontally curved.
    The collision occurred on a two-mile stretch of tangent track.

#### Derived terms

* tangently

### See also

* cosine
* non sequitur
* sine
* trigonometry

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tangentem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [təɲˈʒen]
* IPA: (Balearic) [təɲˈʒent]
* IPA: (Valencia) [taɲˈd͡ʒent]

### Noun

tangent f (plural tangents)
* (trigonometry) tangent

#### Derived terms

* cotangent

### Further reading

* “tangent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Danish
### Etymology

Ultimately from Latin tangēns; cf. German Tangente.

### Noun

tangent c (singular definite tangenten, plural indefinite tangenter)
* (geometry) tangent
    Differentialregning kan fortolkes som forsøget på at bestemme en tangents hældning.Differential calculus may be interpreted as the attempt to determine the slope of a tangent.
* piano key

#### Related terms

* tangens
* tangerende
* tangere

### References

* “tangent” in Den Danske Ordbog

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tangentem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tɑ̃.ʒɑ̃/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

tangent (feminine tangente, masculine plural tangents, feminine plural tangentes)
* (mathematics) tangential
* borderline

### Further reading

* “tangent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Latin
### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈtan.ɡent/, [ˈt̪äŋɡɛn̪t̪]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈtan.d͡ʒent/, [ˈt̪än̠ʲd͡ʒen̪t̪]

### Verb

tangent
* third-person plural future active indicative of tangō

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.

### Noun

tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangenter, definite plural tangentene)
* (geometry) tangent
* (music) key (e.g., on a piano)

### References

* “tangent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From German Tangente, Tangens, ultimately from Latin tangēns.

### Noun

tangent m (definite singular tangenten, indefinite plural tangentar, definite plural tangentane)
* (geometry) tangent
* (music) key (e.g., on a piano)

### References

* “tangent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French tangent, Latin tangēns, tangentem.

### Adjective

tangent m or n (feminine singular tangentă, masculine plural tangenți, feminine and neuter plural tangente)
* tangent

#### Declension
## Swedish
### Etymology

Ultimately from Latin tangēns; cf. German Tangente.

### Noun

tangent c
* a key (on a typewriter, computer keyboard, piano, or the like)
* (mathematics) a tangent
* (mathematics, dated, only in the singular definite) tangent (trigonometric function)
    Synonyms: tangens, tan

#### Derived terms

* tangentbord (“keyboard”)

#### Related terms

* tangens
* tangera

### References

* tangent in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* tangent in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* tangent in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)