catenary

Meanings

Adjective

• Relating to a chain; like a chain.
• Relating to a catena.

Noun

• The curve described by a flexible chain or a rope if it is supported at each end and is acted upon by no other forces than a uniform gravitational force due to its own weight and variations involving additional and non-uniform forces.
• Any physical cable, rope, chain, or other weight-supporting structure taking such geometric shape, as a suspension cable for a bridge or a power-transmission line or an arch for a bridge or roof.
• The curve of an anchor cable from the seabed to the vessel; it should be horizontal at the anchor so as to bury the flukes.
• A cable, the segments of which between supports take a catenary geometric shape, supporting in turn an overhead conductor that provides trains, trams or trolley buses with electricity, or the combination of the conductor, the cable, and supports.

Related

Similar words

• alysoid, chainette

Origin

• From Latin catenarius, from Latin catēna ("chain").
• From Late Latin catenaria, in turn from Latin catēna ("chain"). Attested since 1788.