Meaning

noun a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point but does not intersect it at that point

noun ratio of the opposite to the adjacent side of a right-angled triangle

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- Proto-Italic *tangō Latin tangō Latin tangēns Latin tangentembor. English tangent 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…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0