golden section

American  

noun

Fine Arts, Mathematics.

1. a ratio between two portions of a line, or the two dimensions of a plane figure, in which the lesser of the two is to the greater as the greater is to the sum of both: a ratio of approximately 0.618 to 1.000.

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golden section British  

noun

1. the proportion of the two divisions of a straight line or the two dimensions of a plane figure such that the smaller is to the larger as the larger is to the sum of the two. If the sides of a rectangle are in this proportion and a square is constructed internally on the shorter side, the rectangle that remains will also have sides in the same proportion Compare golden ratio

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golden section Scientific  

/ gōl′dən /

1. The ratio between two numbers a and b chosen such that the ratio of a to b is equal to the ratio of a+b to a. Its value is approximately 1.618. Shapes with proportions equal to the golden section are observed especially in the fine arts and in architecture, as between the two dimensions of a plane figure such as a rectangle. The ratio between consecutive numbers in a Fibonacci sequence approximates the golden section with increasing precision as the series progresses.

2. Also called golden mean golden ratio

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Etymology

Origin of golden section

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

At heart she is a Classicist — in love with the golden section, Egyptian antiquities and Renaissance frescoes.

From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2011

Ms. Quaytman tweaks this formula, however, by using plywood panels, specially ordered in seven sizes that echo the golden section, a mathematical ratio favored by artists since the Renaissance.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2010

He loved mathematical construction and the golden section, and his obsession with "secret" geometry was to be of great help when he turned to the problem of making huge, static, formally coherent frescoes.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had no special belief in the golden section or anything like it.

From Time Magazine Archive

He was not himself an artist, but On Divine Proportion discusses the golden section, the principles of architecture and the design of typefaces.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton