secant method

Noun

 * 1)  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.