vertex

See also: vèrtex

English

Etymology

Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin vertex (“whirl, eddy; top, crown, peak, summit”). Doublet of vortex.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈvɜː.tɛks/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈvɝˌtɛks/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tɛks

Noun

vertex (plural vertices or vertexes)

1. The highest point, top or apex of something.

   Synonyms: acme, apex, peak, top

   Antonym: fundus

   1. (anatomy) The highest surface on the skull; the crown of the head.
2. (geometry) An angular point of a polygon, polyhedron or higher order polytope.
   1. The common point of the two rays that form an angle.
   2. The point at which an axis meets a curve or surface.
3. (mathematics) A point on the curve with a local minimum or maximum of curvature.
4. (graph theory) One of the elements of a graph joined or not by edges to other vertices.

   Synonym: node

   Coordinate term: plot

5. (computer graphics) A point in 3D space, usually given in terms of its Cartesian coordinates.
6. (optics) The point where the surface of a lens crosses the optical axis.
7. (particle physics) An interaction point.
8. (astrology) The point where the prime vertical meets the ecliptic in the western hemisphere of a natal chart.
9. (typography) A sharp downward point opposite a crotch, as in the letters "V" and "W" but not "Y".

   Coordinate term: apex

Derived terms

• antivertex
• covertex
• frontovertex
• hypervertex
• intervertex
• intravertex
• nonvertex
• supervertex
• vertexal, vertexial
• vertex angle
• vertex cover
• vertex figure
• vertex form
• vertexless
• vertexwise

 

Related terms

• vertical

Translations

highest point

• Aragonese: vértiz m
• Bulgarian: връх (bg) m (vrǎh)
• Catalan: vèrtex (ca) m
• Czech: vrchol (cs) m
• Danish: toppunkt n
• Dutch: toppunt (nl)
• Finnish: huippu (fi)
• French: sommet (fr) m
• Georgian: ზენიტი (zeniṭi)
• German: Spitze (de) f, Gipfel (de) m, Scheitelpunkt (de) m, Gipfelpunkt (de) m
• Hebrew: פסגה (he) f (pisga)
• Hungarian: csúcs (hu), csúcspont (hu), tetőpont (hu)
• Ingrian: kukkula
• Italian: vertice (it) m
• Japanese: 頂 (ja) (いただき, itadaki), 頂点 (ja) (ちょうてん, chōten)
• Lithuanian: viršūnė f
• Macedonian: врв m (vrv)
• Maori: akitu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: toppunkt n

• Plautdietsch: Spetz f
• Polish: wierzchołek (pl) m
• Portuguese: cume (pt) m, vértice (pt) m, topo (pt) m
• Russian: верши́на (ru) f (veršína), верху́шка (ru) f (verxúška)
• Serbo-Croatian: vrh (sh) m
• Slovak: vrchol m
• Spanish: cumbre (es) f, vértice (es) m

highest surface on skull

• Arabic: يَافُوخ m (yāfūḵ)
• Belarusian: це́мя n (cjémja)
• Bulgarian: те́ме (bg) n (téme)
• Catalan: vèrtex (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頭頂／头顶 (zh) (tóudǐng)

• Czech: temeno (cs) n
• Finnish: päälaki (fi)
• French: sommet (fr) m (de la tête)
• German: Scheitel (de) m
• Greek: βρέγμα (el) n (vrégma)
• Hebrew: קודקוד (he) m (kodkód)
• Hungarian: fejtető (hu)
• Ido: vertico (io)
• Italian: vertice (it) f
• Japanese: 頭頂 (ja) (とうちょう, tōchō)
• Korean: 정수리 (ko) (jeongsuri)
• Lithuanian: viršugalvis f
• Macedonian: теме n (teme)
• Persian: تارک (fa) (târak), فرق سر (farq-e sar)
• Polish: ciemię (pl) n
• Portuguese: vértice (pt) m
• Russian: те́мя (ru) n (témja), маку́шка (ru) f (makúška) (colloquial), ма́ковка (ru) f (mákovka) (colloquial)
• Scottish Gaelic: bàrr a' chinn m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: теме n

  Roman: teme (sh) n

• Slovak: temeno
• Slovene: teme n
• Spanish: vértice (es) m
• Ukrainian: ті́м'я n (tímʺja), ма́ківка f (mákivka)

corner of a polygon or polyhedron

• Arabic: رَأْس (ar) m (raʔs)
• Armenian: գագաթ (hy) (gagatʻ)
• Bulgarian: връх (bg) m (vrǎh)
• Catalan: vèrtex (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頂點／顶点 (zh) (dǐngdiǎn), 節點／节点 (zh) (jiédiǎn)

• Czech: vrchol (cs) m
• Dutch: hoek (nl)
• Esperanto: vertico
• Finnish: kärki (fi)
• French: sommet (fr) m
• Georgian: მწვერვალი (mc̣vervali)
• German: Scheitelpunkt (de) m, Eckpunkt (de) m, Ecke (de) f
• Greek: κορυφή (el) f (koryfí)

  Ancient Greek: κορυφή f (koruphḗ)

• Hebrew: קודקוד (he) m (kodkód)
• Hindi: शीर्ष (hi) m (śīrṣ)
• Hungarian: csúcs (hu)
• Ingrian: kukkula
• Italian: vertice (it) m
• Japanese: 頂点 (ja) (ちょうてん, chōten), 節点 (せってん, setten)
• Lithuanian: viršūnė f
• Macedonian: теме n (teme)
• Maori: akitu
• Norwegian: hjørne (no)
• Persian: رأس (fa)
• Polish: wierzchołek (pl) m
• Portuguese: vértice (pt) m
• Romanian: vârf (ro) n
• Russian: верши́на (ru) f (veršína)
• Sanskrit: विषुवत् (sa) m (viṣuvat)
• Serbo-Croatian: vrh (sh) m
• Spanish: vértice (es) m
• Tagalog: tuktok, bagtasan
• Tamil: உச்சி (ta) (ucci)
• Turkish: köşenokta
• Urdu: شیرش m (śīrṣ)

element of a graph

• Armenian: գագաթ (hy) (gagatʻ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 頂點／顶点 (zh) (dǐngdiǎn)

• Czech: vrchol (cs) m
• Dutch: knoop (nl)
• Esperanto: vertico
• Finnish: solmu (fi)
• French: sommet (fr)
• German: Knoten (de) m, Ecke (de) f
• Hebrew: קודקוד (he) m (kodkód), צומת (he) m (tzómet)
• Hungarian: csúcs (hu), pont (hu)
• Italian: nodo (it) m
• Japanese: 頂点 (ja) (ちょうてん, chōten)
• Macedonian: теме n (teme)
• Polish: wierzchołek (pl) m
• Portuguese: vértice (pt) m
• Russian: верши́на (ru) f (veršína)
• Serbo-Croatian: vrh (sh) m
• Slovak: vrchol m
• Spanish: vértice (es) m, nodo (es) m

point in 3D space

• Finnish: verteksi (fi)
• Georgian: მწვერვალი (mc̣vervali)
• German: Scheitelpunkt (de) m
• Italian: vertice (it) m
• Japanese: 頂点 (ja) (ちょうてん, chōten)
• Macedonian: теме n (teme)
• Portuguese: vértice (pt) m
• Russian: верши́на (ru) f (veršína)
• Serbo-Croatian: vrh (sh) m, verteks (sh) m
• Spanish: vértice (es) m

point where the surface of an optical element crosses the optical axis

• Finnish: keskipiste (fi)
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: vértice (es) m

physics: interaction point

• Finnish: vuorovaikutuspiste
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked‌: "point of intersection of an axis and a curve"

• Finnish: leikkauspiste (fi)

See also

• Mathworld article on vertices of polyhedra
• Mathworld article on vertices of polygons

References

• “vertex”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “vertex”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin vertex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɛʁ.tɛks/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

vertex m (plural vertex)

1. (anatomy) vertex

Further reading

• “vertex” in Émile Littré, Dictionnaire de la langue française, 1872–1877.
• “vertex”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Alternative forms

• vortex (archaic)

Etymology

From vertō (“to turn around, turn about”).

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯er.teks/, [ˈu̯ɛrt̪ɛks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈver.teks/, [ˈvɛrt̪eks]

Noun

vertex m (genitive verticis); third declension

1. whirl, whirlpool, eddy, vortex
2. eddy of wind or flame, whirlwind, coil of flame
3. (literally, anatomy) top, crown of the head
4. (poetic) head

   vacuus vertex ― an empty head

5. pole of the heavens (north or south)
6. highest point, top, peak, summit (of a mountain, house, tree, etc.)

   Synonyms: cacūmen, apex, culmen, fastīgium, summitās

   Antonym: fundus

   a vertice ― frome above/at the top

   in verticem ― upright/vertically

7. (figurative, poetic) highest, uttermost, greatest

Inflection

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	vertex	verticēs
Genitive	verticis	verticum
Dative	verticī	verticibus
Accusative	verticem	verticēs
Ablative	vertice	verticibus
Vocative	vertex	verticēs

Derived terms

• bivertex
• quinquevertex
• verticillus
• verticula
• verticōsus

 

Descendants

• Lombard: vierdza, verdza, értes, vértisa (“parting of the hair”)
• Piedmontese: verdz̆a (“peak”)
• Romansch: viertsch, vertscha

Early borrowings:

• → Old French: vertiz (“top of the head”)
• → Old Occitan: vertitz, vertis

Later borrowings:

• → English: vertex
• → French: vertex
• → Italian: vertice
• → Portuguese: vértice
• → Sicilian: vèrtici
• → Spanish: vértice

References

• “vertex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “vertex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• vertex 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)
• vertex in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the pole: vertex caeli, axis caeli, cardo caeli
    
• Dizionario Latino, Olivetti
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “vĕrtex”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 14: U–Z, page 320
• Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911) “vĕrtex”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 706

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French vertex, from Latin vertex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈver.teks/

Noun

vertex n (uncountable)

1. vertex

Declension

declension of vertex (singular only)

	singular
n gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) vertex	vertexul
genitive/dative	(unui) vertex	vertexului
vocative	vertexule

Further reading

• vertex in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)