Meaning

4 senses
  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.

    Kettenlinie, Oberleitung

    цепная ли́нияcepnaja, контактная сетьkontaktnaja setʹ

  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.

More definitions
  • the curve theoretically assumed by a perfectly flexible and inextensible cord of uniform density and cross section hanging freely from two fixed points

Translations

6 languages
Русский
By meaning 2
curve of a flexible chain:
power lines above tracks:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
curve of a flexible chain:
power lines above tracks:

Origin

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

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

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: catenaries
Singularcatenary
Pluralcatenaries

regular

Synonyms

2 synonyms

Word family

2 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
catenary — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto