tangential

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.

A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.

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.

Only indirectly related.

That subject is tangential to our discussion, and we cannot let it distract us.