hexagonal

[hek-sag-uh-nl]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or having the form of a hexagon.

2. having a hexagon as a base or cross section.

   a hexagonal prism.

3. divided into hexagons, as a surface.

4. Crystallography.,  noting or pertaining to a system of crystallization in which three equal axes intersect at angles of 60° on one plane, and the fourth axis, of a different length, intersects them perpendicularly.

hexagonal

/ hɛkˈsæɡənəl /

adjective

1. having six sides and six angles

2. of or relating to a hexagon

3. crystallog relating or belonging to the crystal system characterized by three equal coplanar axes inclined at 60° to each other and a fourth longer or shorter axis at right angles to their plane See also trigonal

hexagonal

1. Having six sides.

2. Relating to a crystal having three axes of equal length intersecting at angles of 60° in one plane, and a fourth axis of a different length that is perpendicular to this plane. The mineral calcite has hexagonal crystals.

3. See illustration at crystal

Other Word Forms

• hexagonally adverb
• pseudohexagonal adjective
• pseudohexagonally adverb
• subhexagonal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hexagonal¹

First recorded in 1565–75; hexagon + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Ice I appears in two structural forms: the hexagonal Ice Ih and the cubic Ice Ic.

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Graphene is made of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern that looks like chicken wire.

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It is covered with hexagonal lumps, containing technology that monitors how his brain is working.

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They are a slightly lighter colour than the iconic hexagonal black basalt at the point of the causeway.

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Youn and colleagues arranged their seven insulating rods in a kirigami-inspired hexagonal array that, with the turn of a gear, would expand to change the frequency of the higher mode.

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