trapezium

[ truh-pee-zee-uhm ]

/ trəˈpi zi əm /

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noun, plural tra·pe·zi·ums, tra·pe·zi·a

[truh-pee-zee-uh]. /trəˈpi zi ə/.

Geometry.

(in Euclidean geometry) any rectilinear quadrilateral plane figure not a parallelogram.
a quadrilateral plane figure of which no two sides are parallel.
British. trapezoid (def. 1a).

Anatomy. a bone in the wrist that articulates with the metacarpal bone of the thumb.

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Origin of trapezium

1545–55; <New Latin <Greek trapézion kind of quadrilateral, literally, small table, equivalent to trápez(a) table (shortening of *tetrapeza object having four feet, equivalent to tetra- four + péza foot, akin to poús, podós;see tetra-, foot) + -ion diminutive suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM trapezium

tra·pe·zi·al, adjective

Words nearby trapezium

trap-door spider, trapes, trapeze, trapeze artist, trapeziform, trapezium, trapezius, trapezohedron, trapezoid, trapezoidal rule, trapezoid rule

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trapezium in a sentence

The city of Tralles is built upon ground in the shape somewhat of a trapezium.
The Geography of Strabo, Volume III (of 3)|Strabo
It was an irregular trapezium, a mass struck off from the colossal granitic prism of the Great Douvre.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo
His court must therefore have been a trapezium with its smallest side opposite to the pylon, rather than a rectangle.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)|Georges Perrot
The plan is very peculiar, forming a very irregular trapezium, no two of the sides being equal in length.
Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain|George Edmund Street

The Lick telescope has disclosed one or two other minute points of light associated with the Trapezium.
Pleasures of the telescope|Garrett Serviss

British Dictionary definitions for trapezium

trapezium

/ (trəˈpiːzɪəm) /

noun plural -ziums or -zia (-zɪə)

mainly British a quadrilateral having two parallel sides of unequal lengthUsual US and Canadian name: trapezoid

mainly US and Canadian a quadrilateral having neither pair of sides parallel

a small bone of the wrist near the base of the thumb

Derived forms of trapezium

trapezial, adjective

Word Origin for trapezium

C16: via Late Latin from Greek trapezion, from trapeza table

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

Scientific definitions for trapezium

trapezium

[ trə-pē′zē-əm ]

Plural trapeziums trapezia

A four-sided plane figure having no parallel sides.