Secant line Secant line In geometry, a secant of a curve is a line that intersects the curve in at least two (distinct) points. The word "secant" comes from the Latin word "secare", meaning "to cut". In the case of a circle, a secant will intersect the circle in exactly two points and a chord is the line segment determined by these two points, that is the interval on a secant whose endpoints are these points. A straight line can intersect a circle in two, one or zero points. A line intersecting in two points is called a "secant line", in one
Circle of antisimilitude also orthogonal to both circles of antisimilitude. Suppose that, for three circles "α", "β", and "γ", there is a circle of antisimilitude for the pair ("α","β") that crosses a second circle of antisimilitude for the pair ("β","γ"). Then there is a third circle of antisimiltude for the third pair ("α","γ") such that the three circles of antisimilitude cross each other in two triple intersection points. Altogether, at most eight triple crossing points may be generated in this way, for there are two ways of choosing each of the first two circles and two points where the two chosen circles cross.