tangential

adjective3

1. •
   Referring to a tangent, moving at a tangent to something.

   • The meteor came in on a tangential orbit and exploded about 8 or 10 miles above the earth's surface, just south of the Arctic Circle. — 2002
2. •
   Only indirectly related.

   • That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.
3. •
   Merely touching, positioned as a tangent.

   • The archoplasm divides and forms a very large spindle which first lies tangential to the surface of the nucleus. — 1898