TRAPEZIUM

trapezium, trapezium bone, os trapezium

(noun) the wrist bone on the thumb side of the hand that articulates with the 1st and 2nd metacarpals

Trapezium

(noun) a multiple star in the constellation of Orion

trapezium

(noun) a quadrilateral with no parallel sides

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

trapezium (plural trapeziums or trapezia)

(geometry, British, AU, NZ) A four-sided polygon with two sides parallel

(geometry, US, dated) A four-sided polygon with no parallel sides and no sides equal; a simple convex irregular quadrilateral.

(anatomy) The trapezium bone of the wrist.

A region on the ventral side of the brain, either just back of the pons Varolii, or, as in man, covered by the posterior extension of its transverse fibers.

Usage notes

• (geometry): The terms trapezium and trapezoid have swapped meanings in the US and Canada as compared with the rest of the world.

Synonyms

• (archaic) trapeze

• (geometry, British, four-sided polygon with two parallel sides): (US) trapezoid

• (geometry, US, four-sided polygon with no sides parallel and no equal sides): (British) trapezoid, (British) irregular quadrilateral.

Source: Wiktionary


Tra*pe"zi*um, n.; pl. E. Trapeziums, L. Trapezia. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. Tetra-) + Foot.]

1. (Geom.)

Definition: A plane figure bounded by four right lines, of which no two are parallel.

2. (Anat.) (a) A bone of the carpus at the base of the first metacarpal, or thumb. (b) A region on the ventral side of the brain, either just back of the pons Varolii, or, as in man, covered by the posterior extension of its transverse fibers.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

28 April 2024

POLYGENIC

(adjective) of or relating to an inheritable character that is controlled by several genes at once; of or related to or determined by polygenes


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

coffee icon