Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tangential"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tangential \Tan*gen"tial\, a. (Geom.)
Of or pertaining to a tangent; in the direction of a tangent.
{Tangential force} (Mech.), a force which acts on a moving
body in the direction of a tangent to the path of the
body, its effect being to increase or diminish the
velocity; -- distinguished from a normal force, which acts
at right angles to the tangent and changes the direction
of the motion without changing the velocity.
{Tangential stress}. (Engin.) See {Shear}, n., 3.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tangential
adj 1: of superficial relevance if any; "a digressive allusion to
the day of the week"; "a tangential remark [syn: {digressive}]
2: of or relating to or acting along or in the direction of a
tangent; "tangential forces"
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