Literary notes about tangent (AI summary)
The term “tangent” plays dual roles in literature, serving both as a precise geometric construct and a metaphor for divergence in thought or action. In technical discourses, it is used in its mathematical sense to refer to a line or plane that touches a curve or surface at only one point, as in instances where a line is drawn tangent to a circle or where tangent planes are constructed at specific points on a solid figure [1], [2], [3]. In narrative and dialogue, however, “tangent” is employed figuratively to illustrate a sudden departure from a central topic or a radical shift in a character’s behavior, capturing moments when a person “flies off at a tangent” or shifts their attention abruptly [4], [5], [6]. This interplay between its literal and metaphorical meanings enriches its use in literature, highlighting both precision and the unexpected twists of human thought and narrative.
- From the points on the circumference draw lines tangent to the small circle.
— from Wood-working for Beginners: A Manual for Amateurs by Charles G. (Charles Gardner) Wheeler - Equations of the tangent and of the normal at any point of the ellipse.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The tangent at any point of a circumference is perpendicular to the radius passing through that point.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Don't seem natural for Rose to go flyin' off at a tangent that way.
— from A Daughter of the Rich by Mary E. (Mary Ella) Waller - Too bad of Jude, he thought, always to be flying off at a tangent like that!
— from Judith of the Godless Valley by Honoré Morrow - Though that halfbaked Lyons ran off at a tangent in his impetuosity to get left.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce
