Oblong

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɒblɒŋ/

Definitions

1. A shape that is longer than it is wide, typically rectangular with rounded ends
2. A geometric figure that possesses a length greater than its width, often resembling a rectangle but with rounded corners
3. A form that features an extended shape, characterized by being longer in one dimension than in the other, usually appearing like a rectangle with rounded edges

Etymology: Latin "oblongus" combined "ob-", meaning "against" or "over", with "longus", meaning "long", so the sense is roughly "somewhat long" or "stretched out." The Latin word described a shape that is longer than it is wide, a meaning English kept intact when the word arrived in Middle English, where it appeared in the forms "oblong" and "oblonge." The adjective is the older use, and the noun, meaning a figure or object of that elongated shape, developed from it. Because the word carries the same core sense it had in Latin, a reader who knows "long" can usually work out its meaning without a dictionary, which is one reason the word has changed so little across the centuries.

Synonyms: rectangular, elongated, stretched, extended, oval

Antonyms: square, round, circular, equilateral, uniform