apothem

[ ap-uh-them ]

noun

, Geometry.

1. a perpendicular from the center of a regular polygon to one of its sides.

apothem

/ ˈæpəˌθɛm /

noun

1. the perpendicular line or distance from the centre of a regular polygon to any of its sides

Word History and Origins

Origin of apothem¹

1855–60; < French apothème, probably on the model of Greek hypóthēma base; apo-, theme

Word History and Origins

Origin of apothem¹

C20: from apo- + Greek thema, from tithenai to place

Example Sentences

In math, kids must memorize words like apothem and Cartesian coordinate; in science they chant domain! kingdom! phylum! class! etc., etc., and meiosis and allele and daughter cell and third-class lever and the whole Tinkertoy edifice of terms that acts to draw people away from the freshness and surprise and fantastic interfused complexity of the world and darkens our brains with shadowy taxonomic abstractions.

From New York Times

The usual spelling up to Johnson’s day was apothegm, which Webster and Worcester still prefer; it indicates the pronunciation—i.e. “apothem”—better than the other, which, however, is more usual in England and follows the derivation.

From Project Gutenberg

At "anapest" it was a noticeable frown, at "apothem" it became very pronounced, and at "dieresis" his shaggy red brows nearly covered his eyes, he was frowning so hard.

From Project Gutenberg

Further, as M. Maurice Girard has pointed out, the apothem of the cell varies among different races of bees, so that the standard would alter from hive to hive, according to the species of bee that inhabited it.

From Project Gutenberg