v.
Pronunciation: s ə b- ' tend
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Latin subtendere to stretch beneath, from sub- + tendere to stretch ― more at THIN
Date: 1570
1 a : to be opposite to and extend from one side to the other of <a hypotenuse subtend s a right angle> b : to fix the angular extent of with respect to a fixed point or object taken as the vertex <a central angle subtend ed by an arc> <the angle subtend ed at the eye by an object of given width and a fixed distance away> c : to determine the measure of by marking off the endpoints of <a chord subtend s an arc>
2 a : to underlie so as to include b : to occupy an adjacent and usually lower position to and often so as to embrace or enclose <a bract that subtend s a flower>