subtend

English

Etymology

From Latin subtendere, from sub (“under”) + tendere (“to stretch, extend”). See tend.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sʌbˈtɛnd/
Rhymes: -ɛnd

Verb

subtend (third-person singular simple present subtends, present participle subtending, simple past and past participle subtended)

(transitive, mathematics) To use an angle to delimit (mark off, enclose) part of a straight or curved line, for example an arc or the opposite side of a triangle.
A 43° angle subtends an arc of about 0.75 meters on a circle with a radius of 1 meter.
(transitive, also mathematics) To extend or stretch opposite something; to be part of a straight or curved line that is opposite to and delimits an angle.
A hypotenuse subtends the right angle of a right triangle.
An arc measuring about 0.75 meters on a circle with a radius of 1 meter subtends an angle of about 43°.
- 2012, Me, myself, us,The Economist, 16th august 2012 issue
  ...trillions of bacteria, each equally an individual, which are found in a person’s gut, his mouth, his scalp, his skin and all of the crevices and orifices that subtend from his body’s surface.

Translations

to use an angle to delimit part of a straight or curved line

Ido: klozar arko

Russian: стя́гивать (ru) n (stjágivatʹ)

to extend or stretch opposite something, often to delimit an angle

French: sous-tendre (fr)
German: sich erstrecken gegenüber von, gegenüberliegen, abschneiden (de), begrenzen (de)

Italian: sottendere
Turkish: karşılık gelmek

Anagrams

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