Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Oblique
Ob-lique′
,Adj.
[F., fr. L.
obliquus
; ob
(see Ob-
) + liquis
oblique; cf. licinus
bent upward, Gr. λέχριοσ
slanting.] [Written also
oblike
.] 1.
Not erect or perpendicular; neither parallel to, nor at right angles from, the base; slanting; inclined.
It has a direction
oblique
to that of the former motion. Cheyne.
2.
Not straightforward; indirect; obscure;
hence,
disingenuous; underhand; perverse; sinister.
The love we bear our friends . . .
Hath in it certain
Hath in it certain
oblique
ends. Drayton.
This mode of
oblique
research, when a more direct one is denied, we find to be the only one in our power. De Quincey.
Then would be closed the restless,
That looks for evil, like a treacherous spy.
oblique
eye.That looks for evil, like a treacherous spy.
Wordworth.
3.
Not direct in descent; not following the line of father and son; collateral.
His natural affection in a direct line was strong, in an
oblique
but weak. Baker.
Oblique angle
, Oblique ascension
, etc. Oblique arch
(Arch.)
, an arch whose jambs are not at right angles with the face, and whose intrados is in consequence askew.
– Oblique bridge
, a skew bridge. See under
– Bridge
, Noun.
Oblique case
(Gram.)
, any case except the nominative. See
– Case
, Noun.
Oblique circle
(Projection)
, a circle whose plane is oblique to the axis of the primitive plane.
– Oblique fire
(Mil.)
, a fire the direction of which is not perpendicular to the line fired at.
– Oblique flank
(Fort.)
, that part of the curtain whence the fire of the opposite bastion may be discovered.
Wilhelm.
– Oblique leaf
. (Bot.)
(a)
A leaf twisted or inclined from the normal position.
(b)
A leaf having one half different from the other.
– Oblique line
(Geom.)
, a line that, meeting or tending to meet another, makes oblique angles with it.
– Oblique motion
(Mus.)
, a kind of motion or progression in which one part ascends or descends, while the other prolongs or repeats the same tone, as in the accompanying example.
– Oblique muscle
(Anat.)
, a muscle acting in a direction oblique to the mesial plane of the body, or to the associated muscles; – applied especially to two muscles of the eyeball.
– Oblique narration
. See
– Oblique speech
. Oblique planes
(Dialing)
, planes which decline from the zenith, or incline toward the horizon.
– Oblique sailing
(Naut.)
, the movement of a ship when she sails upon some rhumb between the four cardinal points, making an oblique angle with the meridian.
– Oblique speech
(Rhet.)
, speech which is quoted indirectly, or in a different person from that employed by the original speaker.
– Oblique sphere
(Astron. & Geog.)
, the celestial or terrestrial sphere when its axis is oblique to the horizon of the place; or as it appears to an observer at any point on the earth except the poles and the equator.
– Oblique step
(Mil.)
, a step in marching, by which the soldier, while advancing, gradually takes ground to the right or left at an angle of about 25°. It is not now practiced.
Wilhelm.
– Oblique system of coordinates
(Anal. Geom.)
, a system in which the coordinate axes are oblique to each other.
Ob-lique′
,Noun.
(Geom.)
An oblique line.
Ob-lique′
,Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Obliqued
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Obliquing
.] 1.
To deviate from a perpendicular line; to move in an oblique direction.
Projecting his person towards it in a line which
obliqued
from the bottom of his spine. Sir. W. Scott.
2.
(Mil.)
To march in a direction oblique to the line of the column or platoon; – formerly accomplished by oblique steps, now by direct steps, the men half-facing either to the right or left.