rectangular

American  

[rek-tang-gyuh-ler] / rɛkˈtæŋ gyə lər /

adjective

1. shaped like a rectangle.

2. having the base or section in the form of a rectangle.

   a rectangular pyramid.

3. having one or more right angles.

4. forming a right angle.

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rectangular British  

/ rɛkˈtæŋɡjʊlə /

adjective

1. shaped like a rectangle

2. having or relating to right angles

3. mutually perpendicular

   rectangular coordinates

4. having a base or section shaped like a rectangle

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unrectangularly
  adverb
• unrectangular
  adjective
• nonrectangularly
  adverb
• nonrectangularity
  noun
• rectangularness
  noun
• rectangularity
  noun
• rectangularly
  adverb
• subrectangular
  adjective
• nonrectangular
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of rectangular

1615–25; < Medieval Latin rēctangul ( um ) rectangle + -ar ¹

Explanation

In geometry, something that is rectangular had four sides and four right angles. Cereal boxes, dollar bills, and many cell phones have a rectangular shape. Anything shaped like a rectangle is rectangular. Your backyard may be rectangular, and your brother's oversized suit jacket might give his body a somewhat rectangular shape. The most important aspect of something that makes it rectangular is those four right angles, and the word itself is rooted in the Latin rectus, "right," and the Old French angle, "angle."