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triangle

Pronunciation: /ˈtɹaɪəŋɡəl/

The English word “triangle” has 11 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A polygon with three sides and three angles.
  2. A set square.
  3. A percussion instrument made by forming a metal rod into a triangular shape which is open at one angle. It is suspended from a string and hit with a metal bar to make a resonant sound.
  4. A triangular piece of equipment used for gathering the balls into the formation required by the game being played.
  5. A love triangle.
  6. The structure of systems composed with three interrelated objects.
  7. A draughtsman's square in the form of a right-angled triangle.
  8. A frame formed of three poles stuck in the ground and united at the top, to which people were bound for corporal punishment.
  9. Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium.
  10. A triangular formation of railway tracks, with a curve on at least one side.

verb

  1. To form or be included in a three-part interaction, e.g., a Karpman drama triangle, such as by being ganged up on by two people or being torn between conflicting demands from two sources.

Etymology

PIE word *tréyes From Middle English triangle, from Old French triangle, from Latin triangulum, noun use of adjective triangulus (“three-cornered, having three angles”), from trēs (“three”) + angulus (“corner, angle”), equivalent to tri- + -angle.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.