Rhomboidei

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A category of quadrilaterals characterized by opposite sides that are both parallel and equal in length while angles are not right angles
2. A classification of geometric figures that includes shapes with equal-length sides and opposite sides parallel, resembling a skewed rectangle
3. A type of parallelogram defined by having adjacent sides that meet at angles that are not necessarily right angles

Etymology: "Rhomboidei" is the plural of "rhomboideus", a Latin adjective meaning "rhomboid" or "shaped like a rhombus." The Latin form itself came from Greek: "rhomboeidēs" combined "rhombos," a spinning or rhombus-shaped object, with "-eidēs," meaning "having the form of." So the word literally describes something with the form of a rhombus. In Latin, "rhomboideus" was used as an adjective modifying a noun, and "rhomboidei" is its masculine plural, so it would describe several things of that kind. In English, the anatomical term "rhomboideus" is applied to the rhomboid muscles, the flat muscles of the upper back that are named for their diamond-like shape, and the plural refers to the pair or group of them.

Synonyms: rhomboids