rhombus

See also: Rhombus

English

A pair of rhombi.

A rhombus (flatfish)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rhombus, from Ancient Greek ῥόμβος (rhómbos, “rhombus, spinning top”). Doublet of rhomb and rhumb.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɒmbəs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɑːmbəs/

• Audio (AUS)

  (file)

Noun

rhombus (plural rhombi or rhombuses)

1. (geometry) A parallelogram having all sides of equal length. [from 16th c.]
   1. The rhombus diamond, as one of the suits seen in a deck of playing cards ( or ).
2. In early Greek religion, an instrument whirled on the end of a string similar to a bullroarer.
   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 58:

     The Greeks also used an instrument called a rhombus, or witches' wheel. As the wheel spun round, it was thought that influence was gained over certain people or circumstances.

3. (zoology, now rare) Any of several flatfishes, including the brill and turbot, once considered part of the genus Rhombus, now in Scophthalmus. [from 16th c.]
   • 1638, Thomas Herbert, Some Yeares Travels, I:

     the greedy Tuberon or Shark arm'd with a double row of venemous teeth pursues them, directed by a little Rhombus, Musculus or pilot-fish that scuds to and fro to bring intelligence [...].

4. (zoology, archaic) Snails, now in genus Conus or family Conidae.

Synonyms

• (geometry): diamond (not in technical use), lozenge (if not square), rhomb

Related terms

• rhombic
• rhomboid

 

Derived terms

• rhombus star

Translations

A parallelogram having all sides of equal length

• Albanian: romb (sq) m
• Arabic: مُعَيِّن‎ m (muʿayyin)
• Armenian: շեղանկյուն (hy) (šełankyun)
• Azerbaijani: romb (az)
• Basque: erronbo
• Belarusian: ромб m (romb)
• Bengali: রম্বস (rômbôś)
• Bulgarian: ромб m (romb)
• Catalan: rombe (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 菱形 (zh) (língxíng)

• Czech: kosočtverec (cs) m
• Danish: rombe (da) c, rhombe c
• Dutch: ruit (nl) f
• Esperanto: rombo
• Estonian: romb
• Faroese: romba f
• Finnish: neljäkäs (fi)
• French: losange (fr) m, rhombus (fr) m
• Galician: rombo (gl) m
• Georgian: რომბი (ka) (rombi)
• German: Rhombus (de) m, Raute (de) f
• Greek: ρόμβος (el) m (rómvos)

  Ancient: ῥόμβος (rhómbos)

• Gujarati: પત્તાંની ચોપડી m (pattā̃nī copḍī)
• Haitian Creole: lozanj
• Hebrew: מְעֻיָּן‎ (he) m (me`uyán)
• Hindi: विषमकोण (hi) m (viṣamkoṇ)
• Hungarian: rombusz (hu)
• Icelandic: tígull (is) m, tigull m
• Ido: rombo (io)
• Indonesian: belah ketupat (id)
• Italian: rombo (it) m
• Japanese: 斜方形 (ja) (しゃほうけい, shahōke), 菱形 (ja) (ひしがた, hishigata)
• Kannada: ರಾಂಬಸ್ m (rāmbas)
• Kazakh: ромб (kk) (romb)

• Korean: 마름모 (ko) (mareummo)
• Latin: rhombus m
• Latvian: rombs m
• Limburgish: roet (li)
• Lithuanian: rombas m
• Macedonian: ромб m (romb)
• Mongolian: ромб (romb)
• Navajo: ałtsʼą́ąjigo heetsʼóóz, dį́įʼgo bídazniikʼą́
• Norwegian: rombe (no) m
• Occitan: lausange, rombe m
• Persian: لوزی‎ (fa) (lowzi)
• Polish: romb (pl) m
• Portuguese: losango (pt) m
• Quechua: puytu
• Romanian: romb (ro) n
• Russian: ромб (ru) m (romb)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ро̏мб m

  Roman: rȍmb (sh) m

• Shona: gonyaina tsazamativi
• Sicilian: rummu (scn) m
• Slovak: kosoštvorec m
• Slovene: romb (sl) m
• Spanish: rombo (es) m
• Sundanese: beulahat kupat
• Swahili: almasi (sw)
• Swedish: romb (sv) c
• Tagalog: tagisukat
• Tamil: செவ்வகம் (ta) (cevvakam)
• Telugu: రాంబస్ (rāmbas)
• Thai: สี่เหลี่ยมขนมเปียกปูน (th) (sìi-lìiam-kà-nǒm-bpìiak-bpuun), สี่เหลี่ยมข้าวหลามตัด (th) (sìi-lìiam-kâao-lǎam-dtàt)
• Turkish: eşkenar dörtgen (tr)
• Ukrainian: ромб (uk) m (romb)
• Vietnamese: hình thoi
• West Flemish: ^{(please verify)} rute

References

• rhombus at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “rhombus” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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Latin

Alternative forms

• rombus, rumbus (Medieval Latin)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ῥόμβος (rhómbos, “rhombus, spinning top”), from ῥέμβω (rhémbō, “I turn around”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈrom.bus/, [ˈrɔmbʊs̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈrom.bus/, [ˈrɔmbus]

Noun

rhombus m (genitive rhombī); second declension

1. rhombus (geometry)
2. flatfish
3. a magician's circle
4. (Medieval Latin) sturgeon

   Synonym: sturiō

   Hyponym: carrocō

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	rhombus	rhombī
Genitive	rhombī	rhombōrum
Dative	rhombō	rhombīs
Accusative	rhombum	rhombōs
Ablative	rhombō	rhombīs
Vocative	rhombe	rhombī

Descendants

• Catalan: rom
• Portuguese: rumo
• Spanish: rumbo, romo
  • → English: rhumb
• Sicilian: rummu

Borrowings

• Albanian: romb
• Azerbaijani: romb
• Catalan: rombe
• Danish: rombe
• English: rhombus, rhomb
• French: rhombe
• Galician: rombo
• Georgian: რომბი (rombi)
• German: Rhombus
  • → Estonian: romb
• Hungarian: rombusz
• Italian: rombo
• Latvian: rombs
• Lithuanian: rombas
• Macedonian: ромб (romb)
• Norwegian: rombe
• Polish: romb
• Portuguese: rombo
• Romanian: romb
• Russian: ромб (romb)
  • → Kazakh: ромб (romb)
• Serbo-Croatian: romb / ромб
• Slovene: romb
• Spanish: rombo
• Swedish: romb
• Ukrainian: ромб (romb)

References

• “rhombus”, in Charlton T[homas] Lewis; Charles [Lancaster] Short (1879) […] A New Latin Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company; Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• “rhombus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• rhombus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• rhombus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• “rhombus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “rhombus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin