quaquaversal

English

WOTD – 24 September 2006

Etymology

From Latin quaqua versus (“turned wheresoever”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kweɪkwəˈvɜːsəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

quaquaversal (comparative more quaquaversal, superlative most quaquaversal)

1. Going off in all directions from the center.
   • 1990, Thomas Pynchon, Vineland:

     She had a long look at him, and after having just spent hours with Frenesi’s face, found it easier now to make out, past the quaquaversal beard and smudged eyeglass lenses, as clearly as she ever would in Zoyd her own not-yet-come-to-terms-with face.

   • 2015, Robert Macfarlane, Landmarks:

     It is a brilliantly managed scene, quaquaversal in its geometries, simultaneously expanding present space and deepening past time.

2. (astronomy) Dipping towards a center in all directions.

Translations

going off in all directions at once towards a center

• Italian: periclinale
• Japanese: 全天の (zenten no); (phrase) あらゆる方向に伸びた (arayuru hōkō ni nobita)

astronomy: dipping towards a center in all directions

• Japanese: ドーム状の (dōmu-jō no)