pons asinorum

American  

[as-uh-nawr-uhm, -nohr-] / ˌæs əˈnɔr əm, -ˈnoʊr- /

noun

Geometry.

1. a geometric proposition that if a triangle has two of its sides equal, the angles opposite these sides are also equal: so named from the difficulty experienced by beginners in mastering it. Euclid, 1:5.

---

pons asinorum British  

/ ˌæsɪˈnɔːrəm /

noun

1. the geometric proposition that the angles opposite the two equal sides of an isosceles triangle are equal

---

Etymology

Origin of pons asinorum

First recorded in 1745–55; from Latin pōns asinōrum “bridge of asses”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pons asinorum

The pons asinorum is free to all comers and even the eternal triangle's points are true for either hemisphere.

From Time Magazine Archive

A month or two ago you blundered on "pons asinorum."

From Time Magazine Archive

—If a logical mind ever found out anything with its logic?—I should say that its most frequent work was to build a pons asinorum over chasms which shrewd people can bestride without such a structure.

From Complete Project Gutenberg Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Works by Oliver Wendell Holmes

By means of his third and fourth propositions he is now able to prove the pons asinorum, that the angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal.

From The Teaching of Geometry by David Eugene Smith

Who knows but what I may die a glorious death under the pons asinorum after all?

From The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1 of 2) by Sir Frederic G. (Frederic George) Kenyon