Anticosine

/ˌæn.tɪˈkoʊ.sin/ noun

Definition

The inverse trigonometric function that finds the angle whose cosine is a given value, also called arccosine.

Etymology

From anti- (used in mathematics to mean inverse) + cosine (from Latin complementi sinus, the sine of the complement). This mathematical terminology emerged in the 18th century.

Kelly Says

Anticosine is one of those quirky math terms where 'anti' doesn't mean 'against' but 'inverse'—if cosine tells you the ratio from an angle, anticosine goes backward to find the angle from the ratio.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.