Tangent vs Digression - What's the difference?
tangent | digression |
(geometry) A straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there.
(trigonometry) In a right triangle, the ratio of the length of the side opposite the angle to the length of the side adjacent to the angle. Symbols: tan, tg
A topic nearly unrelated to the main topic, but having a point in common with it.
*{{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne
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A small metal blade by which a clavichord produces sound.
(geometry) Touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.
Of a topic, only loosely related to a main topic.
A departure from the subject, course, or idea at hand; an exploration of a different or unrelated concern.
As nouns the difference between tangent and digression
is that tangent is a straight line touching a curve at a single point without crossing it there while digression is a departure from the subject, course, or idea at hand; an exploration of a different or unrelated concern.As an adjective tangent
is touching a curve at a single point but not crossing it at that point.tangent
English
(wikipedia tangent)Noun
(en noun)- I believe we went off onto a tangent when we started talking about monkeys on unicycles at his retirement party.
citation, passage=“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent . “Is old Hannah all right—in the will, I mean?”}}
Stuart Heritage], [http://www.hecklerspray.com/ Hecklerspray] , Friday the 22nd of May in 2009 at 1 o’clock p.m., “[http://www.hecklerspray.com/jon-kate-latest-people-you-dont-know-do-crap-you-dont-care-about/200934378.php Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”
- Jon & Kate Plus 8'' is a show based on two facts: (1)''' Jon and Kate Gosselin have eight children, and '''(2)''' the word ‘Kate’ rhymes with the word ‘eight’. One suspects that if Kate were ever to have another child, a shady network executive would urge her to put it in a binbag with a brick and drop it down a well. But this is just a horrifying ' tangent .
Derived terms
* arctangent * cotangent * hyberbolic tangentAdjective
(-)See also
* cosine * non sequitur * sine * trigonometry ----digression
English
(wikipedia digression)Noun
(en noun)- The lectures included lengthy digressions on topics ranging from the professor's dog to the meaning of life.