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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CATHETUS

n.In geometry, a line or radius, falling perpendicularly on another line or surface; as the two sides of a right-angled triangle. Cathetus of incidence, in catoptries, is a right line drawn from a point of the object, perpendicular to the reflecting line.
Cathetus of reflection, or of the eye, a right line drawn from the eye perpendicular to the reflecting plane.
Cathetus of obliquation, a right line drawn perpendicular to the speculum, in the point of incidence or reflection.
In architecture, a cathetus is a perpendicular line, supposed to pass through the middle of a cylindrical body.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

CATHETUS

Cath "e *tus, n.; pl. catheti. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Catheter. ] (Geom.)

Defn: One line or radius falling perpendicularly on another; as, the catheti of a right-angled triangle, that is, the two sides that include the right angle. Barlow.