Definition:Latus Rectum of Ellipse/Definition 1
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Definition
A latus rectum of an ellipse $K$ is a chord of $K$ passing through a focus of $K$ perpendicular to the major axis of $K$.
Also see
- Results about the latus rectum of an ellipse can be found here.
Linguistic Note
The term latus rectum is a compound of the Latin:
- latus, meaning side
- rectum, meaning straight or right, as in straight line or right angle.
Hence it literally means right side or straight side.
Its plural is latera recta.
Sources
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): ellipse
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): ellipse