-hedral

1. a combining form used to form adjectives corresponding to nouns ending in -hedron:

   polyhedral.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -hedral¹

-hedr(on) + -al ¹

Words That Use -hedral

What does -hedral mean?

The combining form -hedral is used like a suffix meaning “-faced.” It is often used in geometry to describe solid geometric figures.

The form -hedral comes from a combination of two forms. The first form is -hedron, from Greek -edron, meaning “having bases.” The second form is -al, meaning “of the kind of, pertaining to, having the form or character of,” from Latin -ālis.

What are variants of -hedral?

While -hedral doesn’t have any variants, it is related to the form -hedron, as in trihedron. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about -hedron.

Examples of -hedral

One example of a term from geometry that uses the form -hedral is trihedral, “having, or formed by, three planes meeting in a point.”

The form tri- means “three,” as you may have guessed. We already know that the suffix -hedral means “face.” Trihedral literally translates to “three-faced.”

What are some words that use the combining form -hedral?

• decahedral
• icosahedral (using the equivalent form of -hedron in Greek)
• octahedral (using the equivalent form of -hedron in Greek)
• polyhedral (using the equivalent form of -hedron in Greek)
• scalenohedral
• tetrahedral

What are some other forms that -hedral may be commonly confused with?

• -al
• -drome
• -tron

Break it down!

The combining form deca- means “ten.” With this in mind, what does decahedral literally mean?