This week's theme
Words with allusions to geometrical shapes

This week's words
triangulate
foursquare
trapeze
vicious circle
orthogonal

This week's comments
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Next week's theme
Metallic metaphors

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(or-THOG-uh-nuhl)

MEANING:

adjective:
   1. At right angles.
   2. Unrelated or independent of each other.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin orthogonius (right-angled), from Greek orthogonios, from ortho- (right, correct) + gonia (angle). Ultimately from the Indo-European root genu- (knee), which also gave us knee, kneel, genuflect, and diagonal. Earliest documented use: before 1560.

USAGE:

"I've always liked the idea of belonging to a union, but then again they always seemed orthogonal to what I was actually doing with my life."
Now That's A Really Good Question; The Economist (London, UK); Feb 22, 2011.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: