concurrents

Concurrents is the plural form of the noun or adjective concurrent. In English, concurrent is most commonly an adjective meaning happening or operating at the same time or running together. The plural concurrents appears mainly in specialized discourse or as a loan translation from other languages (notably French); in everyday usage, writers usually use competitors, rivals, or simultaneous events instead.

In mathematics, concurrents refers to multiple lines, curves, or surfaces that intersect at a single point. Concurrency is a central concept in geometry. Classic examples include the three medians of a triangle meeting at the centroid, the angle bisectors meeting at the incenter, the altitudes meeting at the orthocenter, and the perpendicular bisectors meeting at the circumcenter. These points of concurrency are properties of geometric figures and underpin results such as Ceva’s and properties of triangles.

In economics or politics, concurrents is rarely used in contemporary English; the term more commonly used is competitors or rivals. When it appears, it is often as a direct translation from French or used in historical or legal contexts to denote opposing parties or entities operating in the same field or time frame, rather than as a standard technical term.

Etymology and related terms: concurrency derives from Latin concurrentem, from currere “to run together.” Related terms include concurrent, concurrently, and concurrency, used across mathematics, computer science, law, and philosophy.