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

trapes, trapeze, trapeze artist, trapezial, trapeziform, trapezium, trapezius, trapezohedron, trapezoid, trapezoidal rule, trapezoid ligament

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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

Medical definitions for trapezium

trapezium

[ trə-pē′zē-əm ]

n. pl. tra•pe•zi•ums

A quadrilateral having no parallel sides.

A bone in the wrist at the base of the thumb, articulating with the first and second metacarpal, scaphoid, and trapezoid bones.

Scientific definitions for trapezium

trapezium

[ trə-pē′zē-əm ]

Plural trapeziums trapezia

A four-sided plane figure having no parallel sides.