Secant line 3-secants of a finite set of points. Finiteness of the set of points is not essential in this definition, as long as each line can intersect the set in only a finite number of points. 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
Five points determine a conic zero points place no constraints on the 5-dimensional linear system of all conics. As is well known, three non-collinear points determine a circle in Euclidean geometry and two distinct points determine a pencil of circles such as the Apollonian circles. These results seem to run counter the general result since circles are special cases of conics. However, in a pappian projective plane a conic is a circle only if it passes through two specific points on the line at infinity, so a circle is determined by five non-collinear points, three in the affine plane and these two special points. Similar