HYPOTENUSE Definition & Meaning

hypotenuse

[hahy-pot-n-oos, -yoos]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Geometry.

the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.

hypotenuse

/ ��ɪˈ��ɒ��ɪˌ��ː�� /

noun

hyp.��the side in a right-angled triangle that is opposite the right angle

hypotenuse

The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle. It is the longest side, and the square of its length is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.

hypotenuse

In a right triangle (a triangle that has one right angle), the side opposite the right angle. (See Pythagorean theorem.)

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of hypotenuse¹

1565–75; earlier hypotenusa < Latin ��ǳ�ŧ��ū�� < Greek ��ǳٱ�í�Դǳܲ�� ( ��á��ŧ ) subtending (line) (feminine present participle of ��ǳٱ�í�Ա𾱲� to subtend), equivalent to hypo- hypo- + tein- stretch ( thin ) + -ousa feminine present participle suffix

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of hypotenuse¹

C16: from Latin ��ǳ�ŧ��ū��, from Greek hupoteinousa grammē subtending line, from hupoteinein to subtend, from _hypo- + teinein to stretch

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"What would they do to a slave who knew what a hypotenuse was, what irony meant, how retribution was spelled?"

From

The hypotenuse of that triangle then has the length √2.

From

No one is ever going to ask you about a hypotenuse when you get out of school.

From

The quantity c is the length of the longest side, called the hypotenuse.

From

Its strangeness lay in how Leonardo’s sketch showed an adjoining pitcher and, pouring from its spout, a series of circles that formed the triangle’s hypotenuse.

From

hypotensive hypoth.

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