An axis is an imaginary line around which something turns, like the Earth spinning around its axis. In graphs, axes are the reference lines that show directions and values.
From Latin “axis,” meaning “axle” or “pivot,” possibly related to words for “pole” or “beam.” It kept the idea of a central line that things move around.
The Earth’s axis is an invisible stick we imagine running through the planet to explain its spin. Once you see that, graph axes make more sense—they’re just the “sticks” everything else is measured around.
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