Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

triquetrous

American  
[trahy-kwee-truhs, -kwe-] / traɪˈkwi trəs, -ˈkwɛ- /

adjective

  1. three-sided; triangular.

  2. having a triangular cross section.


triquetrous British  
/ -ˈkwɛt-, traɪˈkwiːtrəs /

adjective

  1. triangular, esp in cross section

    a triquetrous stem

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of triquetrous

1650–60; < Latin triquetrus triangular, equivalent to tri- tri- + -quetrus cornered

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Capsule membranous, elliptical, acutish at each end or shortly stipitate, triquetrous and acutely winged, very tardily dehiscent.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

The inflorescence is a compound spike varying in length from 4 to 10 inches, erect; the main rachis is triquetrous, dorsally rounded, glabrous and very thinly scaberulous at the edges.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.

The spikelets are plano-convex, orbicular to oblong, obtuse, secund, 2-ranked on the flattened or triquetrous rachis of the spike-like branches of a raceme, one-flowered and falling off entire from the very short or obscure pedicels.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by Rangachari, K.

The pollen-grains differ in a marked manner in the two forms; "those of the long-styled plants are sharply triquetrous, smaller, and more transparent than those of the short-styled, which are of a bluntly triangular form."

From The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species by Darwin, Charles

It is a native of Albania, and belongs to that section of its extensive genus having triquetrous and obtuse leaves, or blunt three-sided foliage, as formed by a well developed keel.

From Hardy Perennials and Old Fashioned Flowers Describing the Most Desirable Plants, for Borders, Rockeries, and Shrubberies. by Wood, John

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "triquetrous" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com