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cat·e·nar·y

(kătn-ĕr′ē, kə-tēnə-rē)

n. pl. cat·e·nar·ies

1. The curve formed by a perfectly flexible, uniformly dense, and inextensible cable suspended from its endpoints. It is identical to the graph of a hyperbolic cosine.

2. Something having the general shape of this curve.

[New Latin catēnāria, from Latin, feminine of catēnārius, relating to a chain, from catēna, chain.]

cate·nar′y adj.

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catenary

The equation for this catenary with a as the y-intercept is y = ^a/₂ (e^x/a + e^-x/a).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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