catenary - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: catenary

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

cat·e·nar·y

Audio Help [kat-n-er-ee; especially Brit. kuh-tee-nuh-ree] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -nar·ies, adjective

–noun

1.	Mathematics. the curve assumed approximately by a heavy uniform cord or chain hanging freely from two points not in the same vertical line. Equation: y = k cosh(x/k).

2.	(in electric railroads) the cable, running above the track, from which the trolley wire is suspended.

–adjective

3.	of, pertaining to, or resembling a catenary.

4.	of or pertaining to a chain or linked series.

[Origin: 1780–90; < L caténārius relating to a chain, equiv. to catén(a) a chain + -ārius -ary

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
catenary

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cat·e·nar·y Audio Help (kāt'n-ěr'ē, kə-tē'nə-rē) Pronunciation Key

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n. pl. cat·e·nar·ies

The curve formed by a perfectly flexible, uniformly dense, and inextensible cable suspended from its endpoints. It is identical to the graph of a hyperbolic cosine.
Something having the general shape of this curve.

[New Latin catēnāria, from Latin, feminine of catēnārius, relating to a chain, from catēna, chain.]

cat'e·nar'y adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
catenary

1788, from L. catenanus, from catena "chain."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

catenary
noun
the curve theoretically assumed by a perfectly flexible and inextensible cord of uniform density and cross section hanging freely from two fixed points

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

catenary

Cat"e*na*ry\, Catenarian \Cat`e*na"ri*an\, a. [L. catenarius, fr. catena a chain. See Chain.] Relating to a chain; like a chain; as, a catenary curve.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Catenary

Cat"e*na*ry\, Catenarian \Cat`e*na"ri*an\, a. [L. catenarius, fr. catena a chain. See Chain.] Relating to a chain; like a chain; as, a catenary curve.

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