ordonata

Ordonata is a term that may appear in Italian texts in reference to Cartesian coordinates, but the standard mathematics terminology uses ordinata rather than ordonata. In standard Italian, the ordinata is the vertical coordinate of a point in a two-dimensional Cartesian plane, corresponding to the y-axis. The horizontal coordinate is called the ascissa or, less commonly, the abscissa.

In typical usage, a point with coordinates (x, y) has x as the ascissa (abscissa) and y as the ordinata. Some learners or older texts may encounter the nonstandard spelling ordonata, which is generally regarded as a misspelling rather than a correct term. The correct plural form is ordinate, and the singular is ordinata.

Beyond mathematics, the spelling ordonata is uncommon and does not denote a widely recognized concept. It can be easily confused with other similarly spelled terms. For instance, Odonata is the scientific order of flying insects that includes dragonflies and damselflies; this term is unrelated to Cartesian coordinates and is a different field of study.

See also: Ordinata (in mathematics), Abscissa (ascissa), Odonata (insects).