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axis
- A line with respect to which a curve or figure is drawn, measured, rotated, etc. The word comes from the Greek root aks for a point of turning or rotation and seems to have first been used in English by Thomas Digges around 1570 in reference to the rotational axis of a right circular cone. In plane analytical geometry (and graphs) two axes, usually at right angles, are most commonly used. In three-dimensional geometry, three axes, usually at mutual right angles, are most common. Their point of intersection is the origin.
- In astronomy and geography, an imaginary straight line through the center of celestial body, such as a planet or star, around which the body rotates. In mechanics, an axis runs longitudinally through the center of an axle or rotating shaft.
- One of three lines of reference around which a spacecraft can rotate. These lines are the longitudinal (front-to-back), horizontal, and vertical axes. Rotation along them is known as roll, pitch, and yaw, respectively.
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• GEOMETRY
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