What does "cathetus" mean?

A line perpendicular to a surface (or line); in particular, either of the sides of a right triangle other than its hypotenuse.

What is a synonym for "cathetus"?

Common synonyms include: kathete, leg, leg.

Pronounced //ˈkæ.θɪ.təs//.

//ˈkæ.θɪ.təs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A line perpendicular to a surface (or line); in particular, either of the sides of a right triangle other than its hypotenuse.

From Latin cathetus, from Ancient Greek κάθετος (káthetos, “perpendicular”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.