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Webster 1913 Edition

Vertex

Ver′tex

,
Noun.
;
pl. E.
Vertexes
(#)
, L.
Vertices
(#)
.
[L.
vertex
,
-icis
, a whirl, top of the head, top, summit, from
vertere
to turn. See
Verse
, and cf.
Vortex
.]
A turning point; the principal or highest point; top; summit; crown; apex.
Specifically: –
(a)
(Anat.)
The top, or crown, of the head.
(b)
(Astron.)
The zenith, or the point of the heavens directly overhead.
(c)
(Math.)
The point in any figure opposite to, and farthest from, the base; the terminating point of some particular line or lines in a figure or a curve; the top, or the point opposite the base.
☞ The principal vertex of a conic section is, in the parabola, the vertex of the axis of the curve: in the ellipse, either extremity of either axis, but usually the left-hand vertex of the transverse axis; in the hyperbola, either vertex, but usually the right-hand vertex of the transverse axis.
Vertex of a curve
(Math.)
,
the point in which the axis of the curve intersects it.
–
Vertex of an angle
(Math.)
,
the point in which the sides of the angle meet.
–
Vertex of a solid
, or
Vertex of a surface of revolution
(Math.)
,
the point in which the axis pierces the surface.

Webster 1828 Edition

Vertex

VERT'EX

,
Noun.
[L. from veto, to turn; primarily a round point.]
1.
The crown or top of the head.
2.
The top of a hill or other thing; the point of a cone, pyramid, angle or figure; the pole of a glass, in optics. The vertex of a curve, is the point from which the diameter is drawn, or the intersection of the diameter and the curve.
3.
In astronomy, the zenith; the point of the heavens perpendicularly over the head.

Definition 2024

vertex

vertex

See also: vèrtex

English

Noun

vertex ‎(plural vertices or vertexes)

  1. The highest point of something.
  2. (anatomy) The highest surface on the skull.
  3. (geometry) The common point of the two rays of the angle, or its equivalent structure in polyhedra (meeting of edges) and higher order polytopes.
  4. (mathematics) A point on the curve with a local minimum or maximum of curvature.
  5. (graph theory) One of the elements of a graph joined or not by edges to other vertices.
  6. (computer graphics) A point in 3D space, usually given in terms of its Cartesian coordinates.
  7. (optics) The point where the surface of a lens crosses the optical axis.
  8. (nuclear or particle physics) An interaction point.
  9. (astrology) The point where the prime vertical meets the ecliptic in the western hemisphere of a natal chart.

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

  • (element of a graph): plot

Derived terms

  • vertexal, vertexial

Translations


See also

Latin

Etymology

From Latin vortex, from vertō.

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈwer.teks/, [ˈwɛr.tɛks]

Noun

vertex m ‎(genitive verticis); third declension

  1. whirlpool, eddy, vortex
  2. crown (of the head)
  3. top, peak, summit
  4. pole (North or South)

Inflection

Third declension.

Case Singular Plural
nominative vertex verticēs
genitive verticis verticum
dative verticī verticibus
accusative verticem verticēs
ablative vertice verticibus
vocative vertex verticēs

Descendants

References

Etymology

Latin vertex ‎(“top, peak”), from vertere ‎(“to turn”)

Pronunciation

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