quadrant.

quadrant. 1. In analytic geometry, one of the four regions of the plane determined by two lines, the x-axis and the y-axis. Commonly these lines are drawn perpendicular to each other, and the quadrants, or regions, they determine are numbered counterclockwise, beginning with the upper right quadrant. 2. In geometry, a region of a plane determined by two perpendicular radii of a circle and the circle itself. Thus two perpendicular diameters of a circle divide it into four regions, or quadrants.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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