perpendicular

See also: Perpendicular

English

 perpendicular on Wikipedia

Etymology

Derived from Middle French perpendiculaire, from Old French perpendiculer, from Latin perpendiculum (“plumb line”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpɜː.pənˈdɪk.jə.lə(ɹ)/ enPR: pû"pəndĭ'kyələ(r),
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌpɝ.pənˈdɪk.ju.lɚ/, /ˌpɝ.pənˈdɪk.jə.lɚ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌpɜː.pənˈdɪk.jə.lə(ɹ)/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˌpøː.pənˈdək.jə.lə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɪkjʊlə(ɹ)

Adjective

perpendicular (comparative more perpendicular, superlative most perpendicular)

1. (geometry) At or forming a right angle (to something).

   Synonyms: normal, orthogonal

   In most houses, the walls are perpendicular to the floor.

   • 2012 March, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:

     A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.

2. Exactly upright; extending in a straight line toward the centre of the earth, etc.
3. Independent of or irrelevant to each other; orthogonal.
   • 2019 May 31, David M. Willis, “Wrangled”, in Dumbing of Age:

     Hey, I'm not unsabotaging anything! This is completely perpendicular sabotage!

Derived terms

• nonperpendicular
• perpendicular axis theorem
• perpendicular distance
• perpendicularity
• perpendicularly
• perpendicular magnetic recording
• perpendicularness
• perpendicular pronoun
• perpendicular recording
• perpendicular universe
• quasiperpendicular
• slantendicular
• subperpendicular

Translations

at or forming a right angle to

Arabic: عَمُودِيّ (ar) (ʕamūdiyy), رَأْسِيّ (raʔsiyy) Armenian: ուղղահայաց (hy) (uġġahayacʻ) Belarusian: перпендыкуля́рны (pjerpjendykuljárny) Bulgarian: перпендикуля́рен (bg) (perpendikuljáren) Catalan: perpendicular (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 垂直 (zh) (chuízhí) Czech: kolmý (cs) Danish: vinkelret (da) Dutch: loodrecht (nl), haaks (nl), perpendiculair (nl) Esperanto: perpendikulara Estonian: risti (et) Finnish: kohtisuora (fi), kohtisuorassa, pystysuorassa French: perpendiculaire (fr) Galician: perpendicular (gl) Georgian: პერპენდიკულარული (ṗerṗendiḳularuli), მართობი (martobi) German: rechtwinklig (de); lotrecht (de), senkrecht (de), perpendikular (de), perpendikulär (de) Greek: κάθετος (el) m (káthetos) Hebrew: מאונך \ מְאֻנָךְ (he) (meunákh), ניצב \ נִצָּב (he) (nitsáv) Hungarian: merőleges (hu) Indonesian: tegak lurus (id) Italian: perpendicolare (it) Japanese: 垂直の (ja) (すいちょくの, suichoku no), 縦の (ja) (たての, tate no), 直立の (ja) (ちょくりつの, chokuritsu no) Korean: 수직의 (ko) (sujigui) Latin: perpendiculāris Latvian: perpendikulārs (lv) Malay: serenjang Maori: hāngai Norwegian: Bokmål: loddrett Nynorsk: loddrett Persian: عمودی (fa) ('amudi) Polish: prostopadły (pl) Portuguese: perpendicular (pt) Romanian: perpendicular (ro) Russian: перпендикуля́рный (ru) (perpendikuljárnyj) Sanskrit: लम्ब (sa) m (lamba) Slovak: kolmý Spanish: perpendicular (es) Swedish: vinkelrät (sv) Tagalog: tadlong Thai: ตั้งฉาก (táng-chàak) Turkish: dik (tr) Ukrainian: перпендикуля́рний (perpendykuljárnyj), простопа́дний (prostopádnyj) Welsh: perpendiciwlar West Frisian: leadrjocht

Noun

perpendicular (plural perpendiculars)

1. (geometry) A line or plane that is perpendicular to another.
2. A device such as a plumb line that is used in making or marking a perpendicular line.
3. (obsolete, slang) A meal eaten at a tavern bar while standing up.

Translations

line or plane

Bulgarian: перпендикуляр m (perpendikuljar) Catalan: perpendicular (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 垂綫 / 垂线 (zh) (chuíxiàn), 垂面 (zh) Czech: kolmice (cs) f (line) Dutch: loodlijn (nl) f Finnish: kohtisuora (fi) French: perpendiculaire (fr) f Georgian: პერპენდიკულარი (ṗerṗendiḳulari), მართობი (martobi) German: Lotrechte f, Senkrechte f Hebrew: מאונך \ מְאֻנָךְ (he) m (meunákh), ניצב \ נִצָּב (he) m (nitsáv) Hindi: लंब (hi) (lamb), अभिलंब (abhilamb) Hungarian: merőleges (hu) Navajo: kʼéhézdongo ahidiiʼá Polish: prostopadła f Portuguese: perpendicular (pt) f Romanian: perpendiculară (ro) f Russian: перпендикуля́р (ru) m (perpendikuljár) Swedish: normal (sv) c Thai: เส้นตั้งฉาก (séen-táng-chàak) Turkish: dik (tr) Ukrainian: простопа́д m (prostopád) West Frisian: leadline

device

Bulgarian: отвес m (otves) Dutch: schietlood (nl) n Finnish: luotilanka (fi), luoti (fi) French: fil à plomb (fr) m German: Bleilot n, Senkblei (de) n

See also

• ⟂ (This symbol can be pronounced “perp” when used as a subscript of a letter representing a vector.)

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin perpendiculāris, from perpendiculum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pər.pən.di.kuˈlar]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pər.pən.di.kuˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [peɾ.pen.di.kuˈlaɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

perpendicular m or f (masculine and feminine plural perpendiculars)

1. perpendicular

Derived terms

• perpendicularment

Noun

perpendicular f (plural perpendiculars)

1. perpendicular

Further reading

• “perpendicular”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “perpendicular”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “perpendicular” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “perpendicular” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin perpendiculāris, from perpendiculum.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /peʁ.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlaʁ/ [peh.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlah]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /peʁ.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlaʁ/ [peh.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlah]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /peɾ.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /peʁ.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlaʁ/ [peχ.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlaχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /peɻ.pẽ.d͡ʒi.kuˈlaɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨɾ.pẽ.di.kuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨɾ.pẽ.di.kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɨɾ.pẽ.di.kuˈla.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: per‧pen‧di‧cu‧lar

Adjective

perpendicular m or f (plural perpendiculares)

1. perpendicular

Noun

perpendicular f (plural perpendiculares)

1. perpendicular

Derived terms

• perpendicularidade
• perpendicularmente

Further reading

• “perpendicular”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “perpendicular”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French perpendiculaire.

Noun

perpendicular f (plural perpendiculare)

1. perpendicular

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	perpendicular	perpendiculara		perpendiculare	perpendicularele
genitive-dative	perpendiculare	perpendicularei		perpendiculare	perpendicularelor
vocative	—			—

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin perpendiculāris, from perpendiculum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peɾpendikuˈlaɾ/ [peɾ.pẽn̪.d̪i.kuˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: per‧pen‧di‧cu‧lar

Adjective

perpendicular m or f (masculine and feminine plural perpendiculares)

1. perpendicular

Derived terms

• perpendicularmente

Further reading

• “perpendicular”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024