cusp

cusp

English

A curve with a cusp at (0,0)

Etymology

From Latin cuspis (“a point, spear, pointed end”); first used in astrology.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʌsp/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌsp

Noun

cusp (plural cusps)

1. A sharp point or pointed end.
2. (figuratively) An important moment when a decision is made that will determine future events.
   • 2012 April 21, Jonathan Jurejko, “Newcastle 3-0 Stoke”, in BBC Sport‎:

     Newcastle were 11 points adrift of Spurs following their 5-0 mauling at the hands of the north London club in February.
     But a sixth successive Premier League win puts them on the cusp of European football next season as they surged 15 points clear of seventh-placed Everton, who have five games left to play.

3. (geometry) A point of a curve where the curve is continuous but has no derivative, but such that it has a derivative at every nearby point.
4. (architecture) A point made by the intersection of two curved lines or curved structures, a common motif in Gothic architecture.[1]
5. (astrology) A boundary between zodiacal signs and houses.
6. (dentistry) Any of the pointed parts of a canine tooth or molar.
7. (anatomy) A flap of a valve of a heart or blood vessel.
8. A point of transition.
   • 2021 October 20, Mark Rand, “S&C: a line fit for tourists... and everyone?”, in RAIL, number 942, page 40:

     I see freight returning in a big way. The 2016 reconnection of the Helwith Bridge quarries can produce up to three heavy trains a day. The nearby and much bigger Horton quarry is also on the cusp of rail reconnection.

Synonyms

• (sharp point, pointed end): ord

Derived terms

• cuspate
• cusped
• cusp form
• cusp neighborhood, cusp neighbourhood
• on the cusp

 

Related terms

• bicuspid
• cusper
• cuspid
• tricuspid

 

Translations

sharp point or pointed end

Bulgarian: връх (bg) m (vrǎh) Czech: hrot (cs) m, špička (cs) f Dutch: piek (nl), spits (nl) Finnish: kärki (fi) German: Spitze (de) f Greek: αιχμή (el) f (aichmí) Irish: cuspa m Italian: cuspide (it) f Macedonian: врв m (vrv) Portuguese: cúspide f Russian: пик (ru) m (pik), остриё (ru) n (ostrijó), ко́нчик (ru) m (kónčik) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: вр̏х m Roman: vȑh (sh) m Spanish: cúspide (es) Swedish: udd (sv) c, spets (sv) c, pigg (sv), pik (sv) c, egg (sv) c Ukrainian: пік (pik), ві́стря (vístrja)

important moment when a decision is made

Czech: okamžik zlomu m, kritický okamžik m Finnish: käännekohta (fi) German: Scheitelpunkt (de), Wendepunkt (de) m Hungarian: fordulópont (hu) Irish: cuspa m Italian: culmine (it) m, acme (it) f, apogeo (it) m, colmo (it) m Russian: (please verify) перело́мный моме́нт (perelómnyj momént) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: преломна то̏чка f, преломни трену́так m Roman: prelomna tȍčka f, prelomni trenútak m

point of a curve where it has no tangent

Catalan: cúspide f Czech: bod zlomu Esperanto: kuspo Finnish: kärki (fi), kärkipiste French: point de rebroussement (fr) m Irish: cuspa m Italian: cuspide (it) f Portuguese: cúspide f Russian: (please verify) то́чка разры́ва (tóčka razrýva)

in astrology

Finnish: kärki (fi) French: cuspide (fr) Greek: ακμή (el) (akmí) Irish: cuspa m Italian: cuspide (it) f Persian: جزء‎ (fa) (joz') Portuguese: cúspide Spanish: cúspide (es) f

in dentistry

Czech: zubní hrbolek m Finnish: kärki (fi), kuspi (fi) French: cuspide (fr) f Greek: φύμα (el) n (fýma) Irish: cuspa m Italian: cuspide (it) f Portuguese: cúspide f Romanian: cuspid m Spanish: cúspide (es) f

Verb

cusp (third-person singular simple present cusps, present participle cusping, simple past and past participle cusped)

1. (slang) To behave in a reckless or dangerous manner.

References

1. Russell Sturgis, ed. (1902). A Dictionary of Architecture and Building: Biographical, Historical, and Descriptive. 3. Macmillan.

• “cusp”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• CPSU, CPUs, CUPS, Cups, UPCs, UPSC, cups, scup