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asymptote - 5 dictionary results

as⋅ymp⋅tote

  [as-im-toht]
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–noun Mathematics.
a straight line approached by a given curve as one of the variables in the equation of the curve approaches infinity.
Origin:
1650–60; < Gk asýmptōtos, equiv. to a- a- 6 + sýmptōtos falling together (sym- sym- + ptōtós falling, deriv. of ptō-, var. s. of píptein to fall + -tos verbid suffix)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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as·ymp·tote   (ās'ĭm-tōt', -ĭmp-)   


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n.  A line whose distance to a given curve tends to zero. An asymptote may or may not intersect its associated curve.

[Ultimately from Greek asumptōtos, not intersecting : a-, not; see a-1 + sumptōtos, intersecting (from sumpiptein, sumptō-, to converge : sun-, syn- + piptein, to fall; see pet- in Indo-European roots).]
as'ymp·tot'ic (-tŏt'ĭk), as'ymp·tot'i·cal adj., as'ymp·tot'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Asymptote

As"ymp*tote\ (?; 215), n. [Gr. ? not falling together; 'a priv. + ? to fall together; ? with + ? to fall. Cf. Symptom.] (Math.) A line which approaches nearer to some curve than assignable distance, but, though infinitely extended, would never meet it. Asymptotes may be straight lines or curves. A rectilinear asymptote may be conceived as a tangent to the curve at an infinite distance.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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asymptote 
"straight line continually approaching but never meeting a curve," 1656, from Gk. asymptotos "not falling together," from a- "not" + syn "with" + ptotos "fallen," verbal adj. from piptein "to fall" (see petition).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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asymptote   (ās'ĭm-tōt')  Pronunciation Key 


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A line whose distance to a given curve tends to zero. An asymptote may or may not intersect its associated curve.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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