Sine n.  Trig. (a) The length of a perpendicular drawn from one extremity of an arc of a circle to the diameter drawn through the other extremity. (b) The perpendicular itself. See Sine of angle, below.
 Artificial sines, logarithms of the natural sines, or logarithmic sines.
 Curve of sines. See Sinusoid.
 Natural sines, the decimals expressing the values of the sines, the radius being unity.
 Sine of an angle, in a circle whose radius is unity, the sine of the arc that measures the angle; in a right-angled triangle, the side opposite the given angle divided by the hypotenuse. See Trigonometrical function, under Function.
 Versed sine, that part of the diameter between the sine and the arc.


 Ar·ti·fi·cial a.
 1. Made or contrived by art; produced or modified by human skill and labor, in opposition to natural; as, artificial heat or light, gems, salts, minerals, fountains, flowers.
 Artificial strife
 Lives in these touches, livelier than life.   --Shak.
 2. Feigned; fictitious; assumed; affected; not genuine. “Artificial tears.”
 3. Artful; cunning; crafty. [Obs.]
 4. Cultivated; not indigenous; not of spontaneous growth; as, artificial grasses.
 Artificial arguments Rhet., arguments invented by the speaker, in distinction from laws, authorities, and the like, which are called inartificial arguments or proofs. --Johnson.
 Artificial classification Science, an arrangement based on superficial characters, and not expressing the true natural relations species; as, “the artificial system” in botany, which is the same as the Linnæan system.
 Artificial horizon. See under Horizon. Artificial light, any light other than that which proceeds from the heavenly bodies.
 Artificial lines, lines on a sector or scale, so contrived as to represent the logarithmic sines and tangents, which, by the help of the line of numbers, solve, with tolerable exactness, questions in trigonometry, navigation, etc.
 Artificial numbers, logarithms.
 Artificial person Law. See under Person.
 Artificial sines, tangents, etc., the same as logarithms of the natural sines, tangents, etc. --Hutton.

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