tetragonal

[te-trag-uh-nl]

adjective

pertaining to or having the form of a tetragon.

Crystallography. noting or pertaining to a system of crystallization in which all three axes are at right angles to one another, two being equal in length and the third being of a different length.

Compare crystal system.

Origin of tetragonal

First recorded in 1565–75; tetragon + -al¹

Related formste·trag·o·nal·ly, adverbte·trag·o·nal·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tetragonal

Historical Examples of tetragonal

In the tetragonal system there are three axes at right angles to each other.
The A B C of Mining
Charles A. Bramble
Pligot obtained it as minute tetragonal octahedra and cubes by reducing ferrous chloride in hydrogen.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 7
Various
Optically uniaxial crystals—corresponding with the tetragonal and hexagonal systems.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 7
Various
Meshes subregular, pentagonal, intermingled with a small number of tetragonal and hexagonal meshes.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, Second Part: Subclass Osculosa; Index
Ernst Haeckel
Meshes of the network irregularly polygonal, the majority pentagonal or tetragonal.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, Second Part: Subclass Osculosa; Index
Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for tetragonal

tetragonal

adjective

Also: dimetric crystallog relating or belonging to the crystal system characterized by three mutually perpendicular axes of which only two are equal

of, relating to, or shaped like a quadrilateral

Derived Formstetragonally, adverbtetragonalness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tetragonal in Science

tetragonal

[tĕ-trăg′ə-nəl]

Relating to a crystal having three axes, two of which are of the same length and are at right angles to each other. The third axis is perpendicular to these. The mineral zircon has tetragonal crystals. See illustration at crystal.