Ann Nicole Litman

asymptote

/ˈæsɪmptəʊ̯t/ · noun

A line that a curve approaches ever more closely but never meets.

Etymology

Ancient Greek: ἀσύμπτωτος (asýmptōtos), 'not falling together'.

Did you know?

The term was introduced by Apollonius of Perga in his work on conic sections, where it meant any line that does not meet the curve.

We speak not strictly and philosophically when we talk of the combat of passion and of reason. Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.

— David Hume Sourced

A Treatise of Human Nature (1739–40), Book 2, part 3, section 3