trapezium

tra·pe·zi·um

(trə-pē′zē-əm)

n. pl. tra·pe·zi·ums or tra·pe·zi·a (-zē-ə)

1. Mathematics

a. A quadrilateral having no parallel sides.

b. Chiefly British A trapezoid.

2. Anatomy A bone in the wrist at the base of the thumb.

[Originally, a quadrilateral with two parallel sides (later confused with trapezoid, originally, a quadrilateral having no parallel sides), from Modern Latin trapezium, a quadrilateral with two parallel sides, from Late Greek trapezion, from Greek, diminutive of trapeza, table : tra-, four; see k^wetwer- in Indo-European roots + peza, foot; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

trapezium

(trəˈpiːzɪəm)

n, pl -ziums or -zia (-zɪə)

1. (Mathematics) chiefly Brit a quadrilateral having two parallel sides of unequal length. Usual US and Canadian name: trapezoid

2. (Mathematics) chiefly US and Canadian a quadrilateral having neither pair of sides parallel

3. (Anatomy) a small bone of the wrist near the base of the thumb

[C16: via Late Latin from Greek trapezion, from trapeza table]

traˈpezial adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tra•pe•zi•um

(trəˈpi zi əm)

n., pl. -zi•ums, -zi•a (-zi ə)

a. (in Euclidean geometry) any rectilinear quadrilateral plane figure not a parallelogram.

b. a quadrilateral plane figure of which no two sides are parallel.

c. Brit. trapezoid (def. 1a).

2. the mammalian wrist bone that articulates with the metacarpal of the first digit or thumb.

[1545–55; < New Latin < Greek trapézion kind of quadrilateral, literally, small table, diminutive of trápeza table, shortening of *tetrapeza=tetra- four + -peza foot, akin to poús; see tetra-, foot]

tra•pe′zi•al, adj.

tra·pe·zi·um

(trə-pē′zē-əm)

A four-sided figure having no parallel sides.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	trapezium - a quadrilateral with no parallel sides U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776 quadrangle, quadrilateral, tetragon - a four-sided polygon parallelogram - a quadrilateral whose opposite sides are both parallel and equal in length
	2.	Trapezium - a multiple star in the constellation of Orion multiple star - a system of three or more stars associated by gravity
	3.	trapezium - the wrist bone on the thumb side of the hand that articulates with the 1st and 2nd metacarpals os trapezium, trapezium bone carpal, carpal bone, wrist bone - any of the eight small bones of the wrist of primates

Translations

trapezium

[trəˈpiːzɪəm] N (trapeziums, trapezia (pl)) [trəˈpiːzɪə] (Math) → trapecio m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

trapezium

n (Brit) → Trapez nt; (US) → Trapezoid nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

trapezium

[trəˈpiːzɪəm] n (Geom) → trapezio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Let the reader picture to himself a series of visages presenting successively all geometrical forms, from the triangle to the trapezium, from the cone to the polyhedron; all human expressions, from wrath to lewdness; all ages, from the wrinkles of the new-born babe to the wrinkles of the aged and dying; all religious phantasmagories, from Faun to Beelzebub; all animal profiles, from the maw to the beak, from the jowl to the muzzle.

View in context

Thumb arthritis most commonly occurs in the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint, which connects the metacarpal bone in the thumb to the trapezium in the wrist.

Don't Lose Your Grip to Thumb Arthritis: Seek help to counter arthritis and other conditions that can rob you of your hand function

A classic trapezium clutch with a bejewelled push lock wraps up the collection.

Charles & Keith and Rami Al Ali launch exclusive capsule collection

The metacarpal and trapezium articulations developed asymmetric, or mismatched, radii of curvature to allow more mobility and translation at the joint surface.

Basal Joint Arthritis: A Review of Pathology, History, and Treatment

What do you notice when you take a general trapezium? Can you give reasons for the phenomena you observe?

Balanced areas in quadrilaterals --on the way to Anne's Theorem

Therefore, this research had as its intention, to verify if the existence of one chewing side preference, relates with the postural muscular electrical potential, represented by the sternocleidomastoid muscle, by the upper fibers of the trapezium, gluteus medius and anterior tibialis muscles, bilaterally.

Chewing preference and its relationship with postural muscular electric potential

We had aimed at the Trapezium Cluster in the Orion Nebula, and as Arthur C.

Star Struck: A rare chance to observe through a 2-meter scope atop Maui leaves the author gobsmacked

Summary: New Delhi (India), July 30 [ANI]: The Supreme Court on Monday said the onus of maintaining and preserving the Taj Mahal was on the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) Chairman and the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

TTZ chief, MoEF Secy responsible for preserving Taj Mahal

The top court also sought personal appearance of chairman of Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) --a 10,400 sq km area spread over Agra, Hathras, Firozabad, Etah and Mathura in UP and Bharatpur in Rajasthan --to explain violation of its earlier order prohibiting expansion of industrial units.

Restore Taj Mahal or demolish it, court; Taj 'was more beautiful than Eiffel Tower and could have solved India's foreign exchange problem'

The top court also sought personal appearance of chairman of Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) -- a 10,400 sq km area spread over Agra, Hathras, Firozabad, Etah and Mathura in UP and Bharatpur in Rajasthan -- to explain violation of its earlier order prohibiting expansion of industrial units.

Taj Mahal may be shut down, Indian court warns