The word tangent in its broadest sense refers to what touches.
Meanwhile, the term presents an importance and a prominent presence in the field of Geometry , since it applies to two different but etymologically related concepts: tangent and tangent line of an angle.
The tangent line It is that line that has a single point in common with a curve, that is, the point of tangency, this being the point that generates the slope of the curve.
Secondly, the tangent of an angle will be the relationship between the legs of a right triangle.
It can be expressed numerically from the division between the length of the opposite leg and the adjacent leg of the angle in question.
And for the trigonometry, the arc tangent turns out to be the inverse function of the tangent of an angle just mentioned.
Although in addition to the mathematical and geometric field, the word tangent has a fairly recurrent presence in common language ... the use of the phrase go on a tangent is frequent, which refers to that action that an individual performs and that basically consists of on deviating from a central topic of conversation or debate, for example, to go on to refer to other issues that have no direct link to what was being discussed or debated. That is, the comment will somehow touch the central theme but it will not be the same.
Also, the expression go off on a tangent It turns out to be a synonym for expressions like beating around the bush or grabbed the side of tomatoes. Especially, they are used when someone starts talking about a topic and then ends their presentation talking about something totally different without being clear about how they got there. In addition, when a person avoids an answer to a question by referring to another topic these expressions are often used to refer to such behavior.
