cos
/kɔs/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A type of lettuce: A variety of lettuce with long, dark-green leaves that form a loosely packed, elongated head. This is often called "romaine lettuce" in American English.
- Abbreviation for cosine: In mathematics, specifically trigonometry, it is the standard written abbreviation for the cosine function.
Usage Examples
Noun (Lettuce):
- I added some fresh cos to the salad for extra crunch.
- Cos lettuce is often used in Caesar salads.
Noun (Mathematics):
- Calculate the value of cos 60°.
- The formula involves finding the cos of the angle.
Advanced Usage
- "Cos" as a conjunction (Informal, chiefly British): In very informal speech and writing, especially in text messages or online chat, "cos" is a common phonetic spelling of the conjunction 'because'. This is considered non-standard.
- I'm late cos the bus didn't come.
- We can't go out cos it's raining.
Variants and Related Words
- Romaine (noun): The more common American English term for cos lettuce.
- Cosine (noun): The full mathematical term for the trigonometric function abbreviated as "cos".
- Because (conjunction): The standard conjunction for which "cos" is an informal abbreviation.
Synonyms
- For lettuce: Romaine, Romaine lettuce.
- For the mathematical term: Cosine (full form). There is no direct synonym for the abbreviation itself.
Notes on Different Meanings
- The two primary meanings (lettuce and mathematical abbreviation) are completely unrelated homographs (words spelled the same but with different origins and meanings).
- The informal use as "because" is a separate, colloquial development based on pronunciation.
Noun
- lettuce with long dark-green leaves in a loosely packed elongated head
- ratio of the adjacent side to the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle