Dictionary Definition
hypotenuse n : the side of a right triangle
opposite the right angle
User Contributed Dictionary
see Hypotenuse
English
Pronunciation
- haj'paʔnˌuws
Noun
- The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.
Translations
The side of a right triangle opposite the right
angle
- Catalan: hipotenusa
- Croatian: hipotenuza
- Finnish: hypotenuusa
- French: hypoténuse
- German: Hypotenuse
- Hebrew:
- Icelandic: langhlið
- Italian: ipotenusa
- Japanese: 斜辺
- Portuguese: hipotenusa
- Spanish: hipotenusa
Extensive Definition
A hypotenuse is the longest side of a right
triangle, the side opposite of the right angle.
The length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle can be found using
the Pythagorean
theorem, which states that the square
of the length of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of
the lengths of the two other sides. One method some teachers use to
help kids remember 'hypotenuse': When you are in an airplane, and
you have to go to the bathroom, you are using a High Pot, In
Use.
For example, if one of the other sides has a
length of 3 meters (when squared, 9 m²) and the
other has a length of 4 m (when squared, 16 m²).
Their squares add up to 25 m². The length of the
hypotenuse is the square root
of this, or 5 m.
The word hypotenuse derives, according to some
sources, from the Greek
ὑποτείνουσα (hypoteinousa), a combination of hypo- ("under") and
teinein ("to stretch") . Others suggest the original meaning in
Ancient Greek was for a thing which supports something in the
manner of a prop or butress dervived from a combination of hypo-
("under") and tenuse ("side").