Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
sine [sahyn] EXAMPLES|WORD ORIGIN noun Trigonometry.
- (in a right triangle) the ratio of the side opposite a given acute angle to the hypotenuse.
- (of an angle) a trigonometric function equal to the ratio of the ordinate of the end point of the arc to the radius vector of this end point, the origin being at the center of the circle on which the arc lies and the initial point of the arc being on the x-axis. Abbreviation: sin
Geometry. (originally) a perpendicular line drawn from one extremity of an arc of a circle to the diameter that passes through its other extremity. Mathematics. (of a real or complex number x) the function sin x defined by the infinite series x − (x3/3!) + (x5/5!) − + …, where ! denotes factorial.Compare cosine(def 2), factorial(def 1). Liberaldictionary.com
Origin of sine 1585–95; New Latin, Latin sinus a curve, fold, pocket, translation of Arabic jayb literally, pocket, by folk etymology Sanskrit jiyā, jyā chord of an arc, literally, bowstring nil sine numine [neel sin-e noo-mi-ne; English nil sin-ee noo-mi-nee, nyoo-] Latin. nothing without the divine will: motto of Colorado. sine qua non [sahy-nee kwey non, kwah, sin-ey; Latin si-ne kwah-nohn] noun an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential: Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event. Origin of sine qua non From the Late Latin word sine quā (causā) nōn without which (thing) not causa sine qua non [kou-sah si-ne kwah nohn; English kaw-zuh sahy-nee kwey non, kaw-zuh sin-ey kwah nohn] noun Latin. an indispensable condition; requisite. Origin of causa sine qua non literally, a cause without which not Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for sine Contemporary Examples of sine
That accumulation of identities is already a sine qua non when speaking of Hispanics, like Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman, Hispanics, and the Messy Nature of American Identity
Ilan Stavans
April 6, 2012
In the land of the industrial revolution, foreign ownership and management is the sine qua non of industrial success.
Britain is in No Position to Rule the Waves
Noah Kristula-Green
March 8, 2012
This unsmoked, wet-cured ham is the sine qua non of Parisian butcher shops: a light, ephemeral meat, sweet but umami.
Mark Scarbrough
March 30, 2010
Historical Examples of sine
A little further up the street I seen a sine what sed, “This is the door.”
Uncles Josh’s Punkin Centre Stories
Cal Stewart
We require every man in the Army, for that is the ‘sine qua non’ of victory.
John Galsworthy
It is the sine qua non of any hopeful outlook for the future of mankind.
Social Justice Without Socialism
John Bates Clark
A sine qua non is that the glass be hot enough to melt the shellac.
Richard Threlfall
This is a sine qua non, if the nitrate is to get a fair chance.
Manures and the principles of manuring
Charles Morton Aikman
British Dictionary definitions for sine sine 1 noun (of an angle)
- a trigonometric function that in a right-angled triangle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to that of the hypotenuse
- a function that in a circle centred at the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system is the ratio of the ordinate of a point on the circumference to the radius of the circle
Abbreviation: sin Word Origin for sine C16: from Latin sinus a bend; in New Latin, sinus was mistaken as a translation of Arabic jiba sine (from Sanskrit jīva, literally: bowstring) because of confusion with Arabic jaib curve sine 2 preposition (esp in Latin phrases or legal terms) lacking; without sine qua non noun an essential condition or requirement Word Origin for sine qua non literally: without which not Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for sine n.
trigonometric function, 1590s (in Thomas Fale’s “Horologiographia, the Art of Dialling”), from Latin sinus “fold in a garment, bend, curve, bosom” (see sinus). Used mid-12c. by Gherardo of Cremona in Medieval Latin translation of Arabic geometrical text to render Arabic jiba “chord of an arc, sine” (from Sanskrit jya “bowstring”), which he confused with jaib “bundle, bosom, fold in a garment.”
sine qua non
“an indispensable condition,” Latin, literally “without which not,” from sine “without” (see sans) + qua ablative fem. singular of qui “which” (see who) + non “not” (see non-). Feminine to agree with implied causa. The Latin phrase is common in Scholastic use. Sometimes a masculine form, sine quo non, is used when a person is intended. Proper plural is sine quibus non.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper sine in Science sine [sīn] The ratio of the length of the side opposite an acute angle in a right triangle to the length of the hypotenuse. The ordinate of the endpoint of an arc of a unit circle centered at the origin of a Cartesian coordinate system, the arc being of length x and measured counterclockwise from the point (1, 0) if x is positive or clockwise if x is negative. A function of a number x, equal to the sine of an angle whose measure in radians is equal to x. The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. sine in Culture sine qua non [(sin-i kwah non, nohn)]
The essential, crucial, or indispensable ingredient without which something would be impossible: “Her leadership was the sine qua non of the organization’s success.” From Latin, meaning “without which nothing.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Idioms and Phrases with sine sine qua non
An essential element or condition, as in A perfect cake is the since qua non of a birthday party. This phrase is Latin for “without which not” and has been used in English since about 1600. It appears more in writing than in speech.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
