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asymptote

noun
/ˈæsɪmptəʊ̯t/UK/ˈæsɪmptoʊ̯t/CA

Etymology

circa 1650, from Ancient Greek ἀσύμπτωτη (asúmptōtē), the feminine of Apollonius Pergaeus' (circa 200 BC) Ancient Greek adjective ἀσύμπτωτος (asúmptōtos, “not falling together”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + συν- (sun-, “together”) + πτωτός (ptōtós, “fallen”).

  1. borrowed from ἀσύμπτωτη

Definitions

  1. A straight line which a curve approaches arbitrarily closely as it goes to infinity. The…

    A straight line which a curve approaches arbitrarily closely as it goes to infinity. The limit of the curve; its tangent "at infinity".

  2. Anything which comes near to but never meets something else.

    • Language, in relation to thought, must ever be regarded as an asymptote.

  3. To approach, but never quite touch, a straight line, as something goes to infinity.

    • 2006: Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Perimeter of Ignorance As you become more scientific, yes, the religiosity drops off, but it asymptotes.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for asymptote. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA