abscissa

(Click to enlarge)

abscissa

The coordinates for A are (4,3); the abscissa is 4. (Academy Artworks)

n.² (Symbol x), pl., -scis·sas, or -scis·sae (-sĭs'ē).
The coordinate representing the position of a point along a line perpendicular to the y-axis in a plane Cartesian coordinate system.

[New Latin (līnea) abscissa, (line) cut off, from Latin abscissa, feminine of abscissus. See abscise.]

The horizontal, or x axis, of a graph. Where a causal factor or an independent variable can be clearly defined, it is recorded along the abscissa.

In the plane Cartesian coordinate system, the horizontal coordinate of a point on a plane; the x-coordinate, obtained by measuring the distance from the point to the y-axis along a line parallel to the x-axis.

abscissa: P, any point; NP, abscissa

---

The horizontal line in a graph along which are plotted the units of one of the factors considered in the study, as time in a time–temperature study. The other line is called the ordinate.