abscissa

One entry found for abscissa.

Main Entry: ab·scis·sa
Pronunciation: ab-'si-s&
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural abscissas also ab·scis·sae /-'si-(")sE/
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, feminine of abscissus, past participle of abscindere to cut off, from ab- + scindere to cut -- more at SHED
: the horizontal coordinate of a point in a plane Cartesian coordinate system obtained by measuring parallel to the x-axis -- compare ORDINATE
[abscissa illustration]