abscissa
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Related to abscissae: ordinate
The coordinates for A are (4,3); the abscissa is 4 and the ordinate is 3.
ab·scis·sa
(ăb-sĭs′ə)n. pl. ab·scis·sas or ab·scis·sae (-sĭs′ē)
Symbol x The coordinate representing the position of a point along a line perpendicular to the y-axis in a plane Cartesian coordinate system.
[New Latin (līnea) abscissa, (line) cut off, from Latin abscissa, feminine past participle of abscindere, to abscise; see abscission.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
abscissa
(æbˈsɪsə)n, pl -scissas or -scissae (-ˈsɪsiː)
(Mathematics) the horizontal or x-coordinate of a point in a two-dimensional system of Cartesian coordinates. It is the distance from the y-axis measured parallel to the x-axis. Also : absciss or abscisse Compare ordinate
[C17: New Latin, originally linea abscissa a cut-off line]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ab•scis•sa
(æbˈsɪs ə)n., pl. -scis•sas, -scis•sae (-ˈsɪs i)
(in plane Cartesian coordinates) the x-coordinate of a point: its distance from the y-axis measured parallel to the x-axis. Compare ordinate.
[1690–1700; < Latin, feminine of abscissus, past participle of abscindere to cut off =ab- ab- + scindere to divide, tear]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
The coordinates for A are (4,3); the abscissa is 4.
ab·scis·sa
(ăb-sĭs′ə) The distance of a point from the y-axis on a graph in the Cartesian coordinate system. It is measured parallel to the x-axis. For example, a point having coordinates (2,3) has 2 as its abscissa. Compare ordinate.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
See also related terms for vertical.
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| Noun | 1. |  abscissa - the value of a coordinate on the horizontal axisCartesian coordinate - one of the coordinates in a system of coordinates that locates a point on a plane or in space by its distance from two lines or three planes respectively; the two lines or the intersections of the three planes are the coordinate axes |
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