Sē'cant1, a.
a. [Lat. secans, p. pr. of secare, to cut; It. & Sp. secante.] Cutting; dividing into two parts; as, a secant line.
Secant plane, a plane cutting a surface or solid.
2 entries under this word
Secant
Sē'cant2, n.
n. [Fr. sécante, It. & Sp. secante. See supra.]
- (Geom.) A line that cuts another; especially, a straight line cutting a curve in two or more points.
- (Trigonometry.) A right line drawn from the center of a circle through one end of an arc, and terminated by a tangent drawn through the other end. Thus, the line C D is the secant of the arc A B.
Secant. (2.)
