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Glossary of shapes with metaphorical names#Numbers and letters

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File:Gaussian 2d.svg

Many shapes have metaphorical names, i.e., their names are metaphors: these shapes are named after a most common object that has it. For example, "U-shape" is a shape that resembles the letter U, a bell-shaped curve has the shape of the vertical cross section of a bell, etc. These terms may variously refer to objects, their cross sections or projections.

Types of shapes

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|File:Vesica_piscis_circles.svg

|alt1=Fish bladder

|The Fish bladder is the intersection of two congruent disks, each centered on the perimeter of the other

|File:Bicorn.svg

|alt2=Bicorn

|Bicorn

| File:Astroid.svg

|alt3=Astroid

|Astroid

|File:Tomahawk filled.svg

|alt4=Tomahawk curve

|Tomahawk curve, with its handle and spike thickened

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Some of these names are "classical terms", i.e., words of Latin or Ancient Greek etymology. Others are English language constructs (although the base words may have non-English etymology). In some disciplines, where shapes of subjects in question are a very important consideration, the shape naming may be quite elaborate, see, e.g., the taxonomy of shapes of plant leaves in botany.

  • Astroid
  • Aquiline, shaped like an eagle's beak (as in a Roman nose)
  • Bell-shaped curve
  • Biconic shape, a shape in a way opposite to the hourglass: it is based on two oppositely oriented cones or truncated cones with their bases joined; the cones are not necessarily the same
  • Bowtie shape, in two dimensions
  • Atmospheric reentry apparatus
  • Centerbody of an inlet cone in ramjets
  • Bow shape
  • Bow curve
  • Bullet Nose{{cite web |url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/BulletNose.html |title=Bullet Nose |work=MathWorld |publisher=Wolfram |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20}} an open-ended hourglass
  • Butterfly curve (algebraic){{cite web |url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/ButterflyCurve.html |title=Butterfly Curve |work=MathWorld |publisher=Wolfram |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20}}
  • Cocked hat curve, also known as Bicorn{{cite web |url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Bicorn.html |title=Bicorn |work=MathWorld |publisher=Wolfram |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20}}
  • Cone (from the Greek word for « pine cone »)
  • Doughnut shape
  • Egg-shaped, see "Oval", below
  • Geoid (From Greek Ge (γη) for "Earth"), the term specifically introduced to denote the approximation of the shape of the Earth, which is approximately spherical, but not exactly so
  • Heart shape, long been used for its varied symbolism
  • Horseshoe-shaped, resembling a horseshoe, cf. horseshoe (disambiguation). In botany, also called lecotropal (see below)
  • Hourglass shape or hourglass figure, the one that resembles an hourglass; nearly symmetric shape wide at its ends and narrow in the middle; some flat shapes may be alternatively compared to the figure eight or hourglass
  • Dog bone shape, an hourglass with rounded ends{{cite web|url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/CassiniOvals.html |title=Cassini Ovals |work=MathWorld |publisher=Wolfram |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20}}
  • Hourglass corset
  • Ntama
  • Engraved Hourglass Nebula
  • Inverted bell
  • Kite
  • Lecotropal, in botany, shaped like a horseshoe (see horseshoe-shaped, above). From Greek λέκος dish + -τροπος turning{{Cite OED |lecotropal}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bFjVCQAAQBAJ&dq=lecotropal&pg=PA286 |title=The Dictionary of Science for Gardeners |first=Michael |last=Allaby |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, OR |date=2015-09-05 |isbn=978-1-60469-715-5 |access-date=2023-03-02}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fbpc7iyL2UC&dq=lecotropal&pg=PA909 |title=Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English |first=Eric |last=Partridge |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=Milton Park, UK |date=2006-05-23 |isbn=978-1-134-94217-6 |access-date=2023-03-02}}
  • Lens or Vesica shape (the latter taking its name from the shape of the lentil seed); see also mandorla, almond-shaped
  • Lune, from the Latin word for the Moon
  • Maltese Cross curve{{cite web|url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MalteseCrossCurve.html |title=Maltese Cross Curve |work=MathWorld |publisher=Wolfram |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20}}
  • Mandorla, almond-shaped (Italian for "almond"), often used as a frame in mediaeval Christian iconography.
  • Mushroom shape, which became infamous as a result of the mushroom cloud{{cite web |title=Area of a mushroom-shaped curve |url=https://math.stackexchange.com/q/2859529 |website=Mathematics |publisher=Stack Exchange |access-date=2019-12-20 |date=2018-07-17}}
  • Oval (from the Latin "ovum" for egg), a descriptive term applied to several kinds of "rounded" shapes, including the egg shape
  • Pear shaped, in reference to the shape of a pear, i.e., a generally rounded shape, tapered towards the top and more spherical/circular at the bottom
  • Rod, a 3-dimensional, solid (filled) cylinder
  • Rod shaped bacteria
  • Scarabaeus curve{{cite web |url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Scarabaeus.html |title=Scarabaeus |work=MathWorld |publisher=Wolfram |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20 |archive-date=2012-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113000043/http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Scarabaeus.html |url-status=dead }} resembling a scarab
  • Serpentine, shaped like a snake
  • Stadium, two half-circles joined by straight sides{{cite web|url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Stadium.html |title=Stadium – from Wolfram MathWorld |publisher=Mathworld.wolfram.com |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20}}
  • Stirrup curve{{cite web|url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/StirrupCurve.html |title=Stirrup Curve |work=MathWorld |publisher=Wolfram |date=2013-05-08 |access-date=2013-05-20}}
  • Star a figure with multiple sharp points
  • Sunburst
  • Tomahawk
  • Ungula, shaped like a horse's hoof

Numbers and letters

  • A-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter A
  • A-frame, the shape of a common structure that resembles the capital letter A
  • A-frame house, a common style of house construction
  • A-line skirt or dress
  • B-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter B
  • C-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter C
  • D-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter D
  • D-ring
  • Deltoid, the shape that resembles the Greek capital letter Δ
  • Deltahedron
  • Deltoid muscle
  • River delta
  • Delta wing
  • E-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter E
  • Magnetic cores of transformers may be E-shaped
  • A number of notable buildings have an E-shaped floorplan
  • F-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter F
  • Figure 0, the shape that resembles the numeral 0
  • Figure 1, the shape that resembles the numeral 1
  • Figure 2, the shape that resembles the numeral 2
  • Figure 3, the shape that resembles the numeral 3
  • Figure 4, the shape that resembles the numeral 4
  • Figure 5, the shape that resembles the numeral 5
  • Figure 6, the shape that resembles the numeral 6
  • Figure 7, the shape that resembles the numeral 7
  • Figure 8, the shape that resembles the numeral 8
  • Figure 9, the shape that resembles the numeral 9
  • G-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter G
  • H-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter H
  • H-beam, a beam with H-shaped section
  • Goals in several sports (gridiron football (old style), Gaelic football, rugby, hurling) are described as "H-shaped"
  • H topology in electronic filter design
  • Also see Balbis
  • I-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter {{Ibeam}} in a serif font, i.e., with horizontal strokes
  • {{Ibeam}}-beam, a beam with an {{Ibeam}}-shaped section
  • The court in the Mesoamerican ballgame is I-shaped
  • J-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter J
  • K-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter K
  • K-shaped recession
  • K turn
  • L-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter L
  • L-beam, a beam with an L-shaped section
  • The L-Shaped Room
  • L game
  • L-shaped recession
  • Lemniscate, the shape that resembles the infinity symbol
  • M-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter M (interchangeable with the W-shape)
  • N-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter N (interchangeable with the Z-shape)
  • O-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter O
  • O-ring
  • P-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter P
  • P-trap, a P-shaped pipe under a sink or basin
  • Pi-shape, the shape that resembles the Greek capital letter Π
  • Π topology in electronic filter design
  • Q-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter Q
  • R-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter R
  • S-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter S
  • The sigmoid colon, an S-shaped bend in the human intestine
  • S-twist, contrasted with Z-twist for yarn

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See also

References

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Shapes

Shapes

Glossary

Category:Wikipedia glossaries using unordered lists