- Today's Word
Tangential
tan-JEN-shul
Definition
(adjective) Only slightly connected or relevant to the main subject; diverging from the central point.
Example
His tangential comments about his childhood distracted from the business meeting’s actual agenda.
Word Origin
Early 17th century: from Latin “tangens,” “tangent-” meaning “touching,” from “tangere” meaning “to touch,” with the suffix “-ial.”
Fun Fact
Tangential comes from geometry, where a tangent line touches a circle at exactly one point before heading off in its own direction—connected but not truly part of the circle. Mathematicians use tangents to calculate instantaneous rates of change, finding the moment when something touches without staying. Conversational tangents work similarly—they touch the main topic briefly before veering away. ADHD is sometimes called “tangential thinking” when thoughts branch rapidly from topic to topic. Academic writing explicitly warns against tangential arguments that distract from thesis statements. The phrase “going off on a tangent” perfectly captures how easily conversations diverge, touching relevance momentarily before exploring entirely different territory, sometimes never returning to the original point.