对角 (duì jiǎo) — opposite angles; diagonal

Definition

noun
opposite anglesdiagonal

Examples

  • 对角。
    Cháng fāng xíng de duì jiǎo xiāng děng.
    The opposite angles of a rectangle are equal.
  • 对角。
    Lián jiē zhè liǎng gè dǐng diǎn de zhí xiàn jiào zuò duì jiǎo.
    The straight line connecting these two vertices is called a diagonal.
  • 对角。
    Liǎng tiáo duì jiǎo hù xiāng chuí zhí.
    The two diagonals are perpendicular to each other.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

对duìopposite
角jiǎoangle

对 means opposite and 角 means angle, giving an opposite angle or diagonal.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Open 角 →

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