|səb|tend, _səbˈt- transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin subtendere to stretch beneath, from sub- + tendere to stretch — more at thin
1.
a. : to be opposite to and extend from one side to the other of
a hypotenuse subtends a right angle
b. : to fix the angular extent of with respect to a fixed point or object taken as the vertex
the angle subtended at the eye by an object of given width and a fixed distance away
a central angle subtended by an arc
c. : to determine the measure of by marking off the endpoints or boundary of
a chord subtends an arc
a coral atoll, circular in form, subtended a shallow lagoon — J.A.Michener
2.
a. : to underlie so as to include
lesser loyalties which this supreme loyalty subtends — C.C.Morrison
b. : to occupy an adjacent and usually lower position to and often so as to embrace or enclose
a bract subtending a flower