catenary

UK/kəˈtiːnəɹi//ˈkætəˌnɛɹi/

catenary adjective: relating to a chain; like a chain.

Adjective

catenary (comparative more catenary, superlative most catenary)

Relating to a chain; like a chain.
- In Europe, the organizer was the hostess and her principle was catenary.1997, S.A.M. Adshead, Material Culture in Europe and China, 1400–1800: The Rise of Consumerism, →ISBN
- The structure of the model chosen was catenary, and only one nonlinearity was introduced, in that part of the model representing bone growth.1983, Keith Godfrey, Compartmental Models and Their Application, page 242
Relating to a catena.
- The sequence of soils of a more or less catenary nature as seen on the Martin Estate is about as follows :1960, Kenya. Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Survey of the Songhor Area, Kenya, page 93

catenary (plural catenaries)

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.
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.
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.
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.
- The result was catenary being torn down several hundred feet at a time.1958, The Railway Review: An Intelligent Survey of Transit News and Trends
- The colour-lights showed up much better than the semaphores which, in spite of their approach warning boards, are not readily visible at any distance between the supports for the catenaries.1962 April, P. W. B. Semmens, “The Netherlands Railways today”, in Modern Railways, page 241

சங்கிலியம், கயிற்றுவளைவு

The electric overhead was catenary, using 0000 contact wire, and the new railway employed the latest in electric block signal systems.1977, Paul Castelhun Trimble, Interurban Railways of the Bay Area, page 119:
Overhead construction was catenary rather than a single wire to allow the use of pantographs instead of trolley poles so that speeds could be higher.2009, Jan Young, Studebaker and the Railroads, volume 2, page 47:

From Latin catenarius, from Latin catēna (“chain”).

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

What does catenary mean?: Catenary means relating to a chain; like a chain.
What is catenary in Tamil?: Catenary in Tamil is சங்கிலியம், கயிற்றுவளைவு. See Catenary meaning in Tamil.
How do you use catenary in a sentence?: The electric overhead was catenary, using 0000 contact wire, and the new railway employed the latest in electric block signal systems.
What part of speech is catenary?: Catenary can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce catenary?: Catenary is pronounced /kəˈtiːnəɹi/ (UK).

Adapted from Wiktionary: catenary (page history and authors); catenary (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-catenary.ogg.

Cite this entry: “catenary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/catenary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.