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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

catenary.

Relating to a chain; like a chain.

8 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/kəˈtiːnəɹi/UK/kəˈtɛnəɹi/UK/ˈkætəˌnɛɹi/US
  1. Relating to a chain; like a chain.

  2. Relating to a catena.

Where this word comes from

From Latin catenarius, from Latin catēna (“chain”).

noun/kəˈtiːnəɹi/UK/kəˈtɛnəɹi/UK/ˈkætəˌnɛɹi/US
  1. 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. It is described by the hyperbolic cosine function.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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 (metonymic) the combination of the conductor, the cable, and supports.

Where this word comes from

From Late Latin catenaria, in turn from Latin catēna (“chain”). Attested since 1788.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.