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   Per·pen·dic·u·lar

   /ˌpərpənˈdikyələr/

   

   adjective

   • 1. at an angle of 90° to a given line, plane, or surface: "dormers and gables that extend perpendicular to the main roofline" Similar at right anglesat 90 degreessquare
   • ▪ at an angle of 90° to the ground; vertical: "the perpendicular cliff" Similar uprightverticalerectplumbstraight (up and down)on endstandingupendedOpposite horizontal
   • ▪ (of something with a slope) so steep as to be almost vertical: "guest houses seem to cling by faith to the perpendicular hillside" Similar steepsheerprecipitousabruptbluffvertiginousrare:scarpedacclivitousdeclivitous
   • 2. denoting the latest stage of English Gothic church architecture, prevalent from the late 14th to mid 16th centuries and characterized by broad arches, elaborate fan vaulting, and large windows with vertical tracery: "the handsome Perpendicular church of St. Andrew"

   noun

   • 1. a straight line at an angle of 90° to a given line, plane, or surface: "at each division draw a perpendicular representing the surface line"
   • ▪ perpendicular position or direction: "the wall declines from the perpendicular a little inward"

   Word Origin late Middle English (as an adverb meaning ‘at right angles’): via Old French from Latin perpendicularis, from perpendiculum ‘plumb line’, from per- ‘through’ + pendere ‘to hang’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. perpendicularity noun
   • 2. perpendicularly adverb

   Scrabble Points: 20

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   • U

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