This week's theme
Words with allusions to geometrical shapes

This week's words
triangulate
foursquare
trapeze
vicious circle
orthogonal

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(tra-PEEZ, truh-)

MEANING:

noun: An apparatus consisting of a short horizontal bar suspended by two ropes, used in gymnastics and acrobatics.

ETYMOLOGY:

Probably from the trapezoid shape made by the ropes, the bar, and the roof. From French trapèze (trapezoid/trapezium), from Latin trapezium, from Greek trapezion (small table), from trapeza (table), from tetra- (four) + peza (foot). Earliest documented use: 1830.

USAGE:

"In my last year at the university, I felt like I had finally mastered walking the trapeze of my life, work, and academics."
Students in Rural Schools; The Centre Daily Times (Pennsylvania); Feb 6, 2005.

"The Prime Minister and his advisers were hanging themselves in a trapeze of stale and false intelligence."
Peter Newman; Harper's Election to Lose; Maclean's (Canada); Jun 21, 2004.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: