secant method

English

Noun

secant method (uncountable)

1. (mathematics) An iterative numerical method for finding a root of an equation $f(x)=0$, using a succession of roots of secant lines to better approximate the root.

Usage notes

It is defined by the recurrence relation $x_{n+1}=x_{n}-f(x_{n}){\frac {x_{n}-x_{n-1}}{f(x_{n})-f(x_{n-1})}}$, where $n=1,2,3,...$, and $x_{0}$ and $x_{1}$ are initial values.