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

[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.
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| abscisic acid, abrine, abrin | |
| abscission, absolute, absolute alcohol |
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.
