a. and sb. Obs. Also 7 -ant. [ad. L. subtendens, -entem, pr. pple. of subtendĕre to SUBTEND.]
A. adj. That subtends.
1571. Digges, Pantom., I. vi. C iij b. In equiangle triangles, al their sides are proportional aswel such as conteyne the equall angles, as also their subtendente sides. Ibid., xx. F ij b. The subtendent staffe or side of the triangle.
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. iii. 139/2. A Cord, Chord, or Subtendant Line; is a streight Line which joyns to an Arch or Bow by its ends.
B. sb. A subtending line or side.
1570. Dee, Math. Pref., 30. Square then, halfe the Subtendent of that watry Superficies.
1673. in Rigaud, Corr. Sci. Men (1841), II. 569. A, E, are the subtendants of two arches which together make up 1/2 the circumference.