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Glite Dictionary
to subtend

to subtend

1 9.8
To form an angle at a point by lying opposite it, like a line or arc
  • verb
  • /sʌbˈtɛnd/
  • Specialized
: subtender
  • In geometry, the arc subtends an angle that can be measured from the circle's center to its endpoints.
  • subtends an angle

And then we can ask how much angle do they subtend in the sky, right?

Examples

  • The view subtends an angle of about 65 degrees in the horizontal.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Each character subtended 0.741° of visual arc.

    Academic text (2018)

  • And then we can ask how much angle do they subtend in the sky, right?

    Stanford

  • The eye really cares about the angle subtended by some object, but there is a limit to how close you can bring it.

  • In any right-angled triangle, the square on the side subtending the right angle, is equal to... what?

    The Man Without a Face (1993)

  • We define the angle of the spherical triangle as the angle subtended by the great circle.

  • At this distance, each letter subtended 0.33 of visual angle laterally.

    Academic text (2013)

  • So the question is whether or not the angle subtended by the pixels is bigger or smaller than the angle subtended by the rods and cones, right?

  • The stimuli subtended visual angles of 5.8 degrees vertically by 7.4 degrees horizontally.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Their results helped confirm Newton's idea that as one nears Earth's equator, a degree of latitude subtends greater distance because of the planet's equatorial bulge.

    Academic text (2006)

Surface Forms

subtend infinitive
subtended past
subtended past participle
subtending present participle
subtends third person singular

Morphology

subtend = tend (semi-transparent) = sub + tend

The elements 'sub-' and 'tend' are identifiable, but 'tend' in its sense 'stretch' is not a common modern meaning and the geometric sense is specialized.

Etymology

Subtend comes from the Latin parts sub- 'under' and tendere 'to stretch', the same root as tend and extend. So in geometry, to subtend is like 'stretching under' an angle: a line or arc that lies opposite an angle is said to subtend it because it helps form that angle.