/ æbˈsɪsə; NAmE / ( pl. ab·scissae / -siː; NAmE / or ab·scissas ) noun
( mathematics ) the coordinate that gives the distance along the horizontal axis
—compare ordinate
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WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent. (denoting the part of a line between a point on it and the point where it meets an ordinate): from modern Latin abscissa (linea) cut-off (line), feminine past participle of abscindere , from ab- off + scindere to cut.