Etymology

cotangent

C3O1T1A1N1G2E1N1T1

Today it means: In a right triangle, the reciprocal of the tangent of an angle. Symbols: cot, ctg, or ctn Full definition →

English tangent ← Latin tangentem ← Proto-Italic *tangō
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincon-
  6. Latinco-
  7. Englishco-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*teh₂g-
  9. Proto-Italic*tangō
  10. Latintangō
  11. Latintangēns
  12. Latintangentem
  13. Englishtangent
  14. English todaycotangent

From co- + tangent.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.