Rectangle

How to spell rectangle

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce rectangle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rectangle mean?

1. nounA flat shape with four straight sides and four right angles, where opposite sides are equal in length.

Rectangle in a sentence

• The architect drew the floor plan as a long, narrow rectangle.

• Each photo was cropped into a neat rectangle before printing.

Where does rectangle come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is a compound built from two Latin elements: rectus, meaning 'straight' or 'right', and angulus, meaning 'corner' or 'angle'. Together they describe a four-sided figure whose corners are all right angles, that is, exactly ninety degrees. The form came into English in the late sixteenth century, partly through French rectangle and partly assembled directly from the Latin parts by mathematicians of the period. The same rectus root sits behind everyday words such as 'rectify' (to make right) and 'correct', while angulus survives in 'angle' and 'triangle'. Knowing that the word literally means 'right corner' helps fix the spelling: it begins with rect, not 'wreck', and keeps the familiar -angle ending shared with triangle.

How the word is built

• rect- (from Latin rectus: right, straight)
• angle (from Latin angulus: corner)