Meanings
nounhypotenuse (plural hypotenuses)
plural hypotenuses · alternative hypotheni
- geometryThe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.
Origin
- Ancient Greekὑποτείνουσα πλευρά“side subtending [the right angle]”
- Latinhypotenusa
- Englishhypotenuse
From Latin hypotenusa, from Ancient Greek ὑποτείνουσα πλευρά (hupoteínousa pleurá, “side subtending [the right angle]”), from ὑποτείνουσα (hupoteínousa, “stretching, extending, subtending”), active participle of ὑποτείνω (hupoteínō, “subtend, stretch under”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic وَتَر, ضِلْع مُتَوَتِّر
- وَتَر (watar)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
- ضِلْع مُتَوَتِّر (ḍilʕ mutawattir)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Bulgarian хипотенуза
- хипотенуза (hipotenuza)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Catalan hipotenusa
- hipotenusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Chinese Mandarin 斜邊 /斜边
- 斜邊 /斜边 (xiébiān)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Classical Chinese 弦
- 弦 (xián)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Czech přepona
- přeponathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Danish hypotenuse
- hypotenusethe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Dutch hypotenusa, schuine zijde
- hypotenusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
- schuine zijdethe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Esperanto hipotenuzo
- hipotenuzothe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Finnish hypotenuusa
- hypotenuusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
French hypoténuse
- hypoténusethe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
German Hypotenuse
- Hypotenusethe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Greek υποτείνουσα
- υποτείνουσα (ypoteínousa)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Hebrew יתר
- יתר (yéter)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Hindi कर्ण
- कर्ण (karṇ)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Hungarian átfogó
- átfogóthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Icelandic langhlið
- langhliðthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Indonesian hipotenusa
- hipotenusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Italian ipotenusa
- ipotenusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Japanese 斜辺
- 斜辺 (shahen)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Korean 빗변
- 빗변 (bitbyeon)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Malay garis sendeng, hipotenus
- garis sendengthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
- hipotenusthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Māori tāroa
- tāroathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Persian وتر
- وتر (vatar)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Polish przeciwprostokątna
- przeciwprostokątnathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Portuguese hipotenusa
- hipotenusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Romanian ipotenuză
- ipotenuzăthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Russian гипотену́за
- гипотену́за (gipotenúza)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Slovak prepona
- preponathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Spanish hipotenusa
- hipotenusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Swedish hypotenusa
- hypotenusathe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Tagalog gilis
- gilisthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Thai ด้านตรงข้ามมุมฉาก
- ด้านตรงข้ามมุมฉาก (dâan-dtrong-kâam-mum-chàak)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Turkish hipotenüs
- hipotenüsthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Ukrainian гіпотену́за
- гіпотену́за (hipotenúza)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Urdu وتر
- وتر (vatar)the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Vietnamese cạnh huyền
- cạnh huyềnthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Welsh llinell groes
- llinell groesthe side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
Cite this entry
APA
hypotenuse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypotenuse
MLA
“hypotenuse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypotenuse. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hypotenuse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypotenuse.
Source: hypotenuse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.