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cosecant

cosecant

1 9.9
A trigonometry function equal to the hypotenuse divided by the opposite side
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊsɪkænt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cosecante
  • In trigonometry, the cosecant function is often used to solve problems involving right-angled triangles.

That is the fastest easiest way to find cosecant, secant and cotangent.

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Examples

  • OK, Now I told you that cosecant is the inverse of sine, right?

  • To find the cosecant of an angle, you can take the reciprocal of the sine value for that angle.

  • It's going to give us cosecant X, oh, tangent X.

  • So this is negative lane cosecant X plus cotangent X.

  • But that is what we will now put in place of cosecant Theta so that it's all in terms of X.

  • And what graph does Cosecant look like Secant?

  • I know to be cosecant of Theta D Theta.

  • That is the fastest easiest way to find cosecant, secant and cotangent.

  • Because from here we want to remember the three other trig functions, cosecant, secant, and cotangent.

  • In a right triangle, the cosecant of an angle is defined as the ratio of the length of the hypotenuse to the length of the opposite side.

Synonyms

cosec
vscosecant
  • Indian
9.4

The number found by dividing a right triangle's hypotenuse by its opposite side

is the full written form rather than the shortened abbreviation

Compounds

arc cosecant
  • Specialized
9.9

To give the angle in trigonometry whose cosecant equals a number

inverse cosecant
  • Specialized
9.9

An angle whose cosecant equals a given number

Surface Forms

cosecant singular
cosecants plural

Morphology

cosecant = secant (semi-transparent) = co + secant

Formally analysable as 'co-' + 'secant', but the precise mathematical relation is specialized and not directly inferable by average learners without trig knowledge.

Etymology

The word cosecant comes from the prefix co-, like in cooperate, meaning 'together' or 'partner', and from secant, which comes from a root meaning 'to cut', the same root in the word section. So, cosecant today means the hypotenuse divided by the opposite side, which is the reciprocal of the sine.