secant (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict[secant 词源字典]
1590s, from Latin secantem (nominative secans) "a cutting," present participle of secare "to cut" (see section (n.)). First used by Danish mathematician Thomas Fincke in "Geometria Rotundi" (1583).[secant etymology, secant origin, 英语词源]