rectangle

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈrɛktæŋɡl/ UK /ˈrɛktæŋɡl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a four-sided figure with four right angles

He drew a rectangle to represent the room.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a four-sided figure with... oblong quadrilateral quadrangle

Word family

Derived forms rectangularrectangularity

Related forms rectify rectitude angle triangle

Simplified etymology

Rectangle entered English in the mid-16th century from Latin elements: rectus, meaning “right” or “straight,” and angulus, meaning “angle.” Its name therefore describes a figure composed of right angles.

Etymology

From Latin rectus ('right, straight') + angulus ('angle, corner'), modeled on French rectangle. Rectus is the past participle of regere ('to direct, keep straight').

rectus Latin angulus Latin regere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# rectangle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈrɛktæŋɡl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈrɛktæŋɡl/

## Meanings
1. a four-sided figure with four right angles

## Examples
- He drew a rectangle to represent the room.

## Synonyms
- oblong
- quadrilateral
- quadrangle

## Derived Forms
- rectangular
- rectangularity

## Related Forms
- rectify
- rectitude
- angle
- triangle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rectus
- Root: angulus
- Root: regere

## Etymology
From Latin rectus ('right, straight') + angulus ('angle, corner'), modeled on French rectangle. Rectus is the past participle of regere ('to direct, keep straight').

## AI Etymology
Rectangle comes from Latin rectus ('right, straight') + angulus ('angle, corner'), modeled on French rectangle. Rectus is the past participle of regere ('to direct, keep straight'). The historical chain includes Latin rectus, Latin angulus, and Latin regere. The quoted older senses, "right, straight", "angle, corner", and "to direct, keep straight", supply the semantic anchors for rectangle. The formation is best read as compound, participial, and borrowed: the word rectangle carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a four-sided figure with four right angles". English derivatives include rectangular and rectangularity; related English forms include rectify, rectitude, angle, and triangle. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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