tan·gent
noun/ˈtændʒənt/
/ˈtændʒənt/
Idioms - (geometry) a straight line that touches the outside of a curve but does not cross it
enlarge image切线 - The cart track branches off at a tangent.
车轨在切线处分叉。
- The cart track branches off at a tangent.
- (abbreviation tan)(mathematics) the ratio of the length of the side opposite an angle in a right-angled triangle to the length of the side next to it
正切
Word Originlate 16th cent. (in sense (2) and as an adjective): from Latin tangent- ‘touching’, from the verb tangere.
Idioms
fly/go off at a tangent (British English)
(North American English go off on a tangent)
- (informal) to suddenly start saying or doing something that does not seem to be connected to what has gone before
突然转换话题；突然改变行动 - He never sticks to the point but keeps going off at a tangent.
他从不紧扣主题，却总是离题。 - Laura’s mind went off at a tangent.
劳拉的思绪突然偏离了方向。
- He never sticks to the point but keeps going off at a tangent.