Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Tangential
Tan-gen′tial
,Adj.
(Geom.)
Of or pertaining to a tangent; in the direction of a tangent.
Tangential force
(Mech.)
, a force which acts on a moving body in the direction of a tangent to the path of the body, its effect being to increase or diminish the velocity; – distinguished from a normal force, which acts at right angles to the tangent and changes the direction of the motion without changing the velocity.
– Tangential stress
. (Engin.)
See , 3.
Shear
, Noun.