Perpendicular Definition
pûrpən-dĭkyə-lər
adjective
Intersecting at or forming right angles.
American Heritage
At right angles to a given plane or line.
Webster's New World
Exactly upright; vertical; straight up or down.
Webster's New World
Very steep.
Webster's New World
Of or designating the third and latest style of English Gothic architecture of the 14th to the 16th cent., characterized by vertical lines in its tracery.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
- oblique
- parallel
- inclined
- horizontal
- level
- horizontal oblique
adverb
In a perpendicular manner.
Webster's New World
noun
A line or plane at right angles to another line or plane.
Webster's New World
A device used in finding or marking the vertical line from any point.
Webster's New World
A perpendicular or upright position.
Webster's New World
A line at right angles to the plane of the horizon.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
- English-Gothic architecture
- English-Gothic
- perpendicular style
- plumb-line
Other Word Forms of Perpendicular
Noun
Singular:
perpendicular
Plural:
perpendicularsOrigin of Perpendicular
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Middle English perpendiculer from Old French from Latin perpendiculāris from perpendiculum plumb line from perpendere to weigh carefully per- per- pendere to weigh (s)pen- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
-
Latin perpendiculum (“plumb line").
From Wiktionary
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