Angle

How to spell angle

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce angle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does angle mean?

1. nounThe space, measured in degrees, between two lines or surfaces that meet at a point.
2. nounA particular way of approaching or considering something.
3. verbTo fish with a rod, hook, and line.

Angle in a sentence

• noun

  The carpenter measured each angle before cutting the timber.

• noun

  The reporter looked for a fresh angle on the familiar story.

• verb

  They like to angle for trout in the quiet river each summer.

• noun

  A right angle measures exactly ninety degrees.

• noun

  From a tax angle, the merger made little sense.

• verb

  Local people may angle here only with a valid permit.

Where does angle come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin angulus, which literally meant 'corner' or 'a sharp bend', and which in turn was related to the idea of something bent or hooked. It passed into English through Old French during the late 1300s, originally in the mathematical sense of the space between two intersecting lines. The same root for bending also explains the entirely separate verb 'to angle', meaning to fish, since an early Germanic relative described the bent hook used by a fisherman; the place name England and the people called the Angles share a connection with that hooked shape of land. Over time 'angle' also grew a figurative sense of a particular point of view or slant on a matter. The spelling trap is the close resemblance to 'angel': the same letters appear, but 'angle' keeps the g before the l, while 'angel' swaps them, so the difference is entirely in that final pair of letters.

How the word is built

• angl- (from Latin angulus: corner)
• -e