coordinant

Coordinant is a rarely used term that serves as a variant or historical form of the word coordinate (or co-ordinate). In mathematics, coordinant may refer to a single coordinate value or, more generally, to the coordinates of a point in a coordinate system. For example, in a two-dimensional plane a point P has coordinates (x, y); in some older texts, the individual numbers x and y could be described as the coordinants of P.

In this sense, coordinant is essentially synonymous with coordinate, but its use is largely obsolete. Modern mathematical writing consistently uses coordinate for a position along an axis and coordinates for the set of values that locate a point in a space. The concept extends to n-dimensional spaces, where a point has n coordinates (sometimes historically called coordinants), though contemporary terminology favors coordinates.

Outside of mathematics, coordinant is not a standard technical term. It is not commonly used in computing, physics, or other applied disciplines, where the preferred terms are coordinate, coordinates, or guidance from a coordinator or coordinate system, depending on the context. If encountered, coordinant is most often a historical reference or a misspelling rather than a current, accepted term.

See also: Coordinate (geometry), Coordinate system, Coordinates, Coordinate geometry. Notes: When assessing usage, examine the surrounding text to determine whether coordinant is intended as an archaic variant of coordinate or simply a spelling error.