A line that a curve approaches closer and closer to, but never actually touches or crosses, no matter how far extended.
From Greek 'asymptōtos' meaning 'not falling together,' from 'a-' (not) and 'symptiptein' (to fall together), describing a geometric relationship discovered in Hellenistic mathematics.
Asymptotes are everywhere in nature—a cooling object's temperature approaches room temperature asymptotically, and populations often grow toward an asymptotic limit called carrying capacity.
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