- per´pen|dic´u|lar|ly
- per|pen|dic|u|lar «PUR puhn DIHK yuh luhr», adjective, noun.–adj.1. standing straight up; upright: »
The tree was leaning against the house and no longer perpendicular.
SYNONYM(S): vertical, erect.3. at right angles. One line is perpendicular to another when it makes a square corner with another. The floor of a room is perpendicular to the side and parallel to the ceiling.4. Often, Perpendicular. of or having to do with English Gothic architecture of the 1400's and 1500's, characterized by emphasis on vertical lines, especially in window tracery.–n.1. a perpendicular line or plane: »The sagging walls of the old barn were no longer on the perpendicular.
2. a) an upright or erect position: »Springing to her accustomed perpendicular like a bowed sapling (Thomas Hardy).
b) a steep or precipitous slope.3. Figurative. moral uprightness; rectitude.4. an instrument or appliance for indicating the vertical line from any point, such as a plumb rule.╂[< Old French perpendiculer, learned borrowing from Latin perpendiculāris < perpendiculum plumb line, ultimately < per- through + pendēre to hang]–per´pen|dic´u|lar|ly, adverb.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
