See Also: triangle(dictionary)
Triangle(medicine)
triangle(2)(dictionary)
triangle(1)(dictionary)
triangle(encyclopedia)
omotracheal triangle(medicine)
paravertebral triangle(medicine)
pubourethral triangle(medicine)
sacral triangle(medicine)
omoclavicular triangle(medicine)

triangle(2) (iou)



triangle noun. LME.
[Old & mod. French, or Latin triangulum use as noun of neut. of triangulus three-cornered, formed as TRI- + angulus ANGLE noun3.]
A figure (usu. a plane straight-sided figure) having three angles and three sides. LME.
astronomical triangle: see ASTRONOMICAL adjective 1. right triangle: see RIGHT adjective. SPHERICAL triangle. triangle of forces a triangle formed by three lines whose directions and magnitudes represent those of three forces in equilibrium acting at a point.
b. fig. A group or set of three; esp. a relationship of three people involving sexual rivalry. E17.
eternal triangle: see ETERNAL adjective 2c.
gen. A three-cornered object, marking, area, or space. LME.
Bermuda Triangle: see BERMUDA 3. golden triangle the area at the meeting-point of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Thailand, where much opium is grown. in triangle Heraldry (of three or more charges) arranged in the form of a triangle. Pascal's triangle: see PASCAL 1.
M. Kline The triangle formed by three mountain peaks. Atlantic A triangle of light from the streetlamp fell on my sheets. E. J. Howard Shrimps..with thin triangles of toast.
(Usu. Triangle.) The constellation Triangulum. LME.
Southern Triangle: see SOUTHERN adjective.
A drawing instrument in the form of a right-angled triangle made of wood, metal, plastic, etc. LME.
Chiefly Nautical. A large tripod made of three poles or spars joined at the top and having a pulley for hoisting heavy weights. L17.
A percussion instrument consisting of a steel rod bent into a triangle and sounded by striking it with a small steel rod; a player on this in an orchestra etc. E19.
Hist. A tripod (orig. made of three halberds stuck in the ground and joined at the top) to which a prisoner or soldier was bound for flogging. Usu. in pl. E19.
Angling. A set of three hooks fastened together so that the barbs form a triangle. M19.
A small brownish Eurasian moth, Heterogenea asella, of oak and beech woods. Also triangle moth. M19.
Snooker etc. A triangular wooden frame used to position the red balls before the start of play. L19.
A triangular reflective metal sign to warn vehicles on the road of a broken-down vehicle ahead. M20.
Comb.: triangle inequality Math. the statement that the modulus of the sum of two quantities is less than or equal to the sum of their moduli (so called from the analogy with the distances between the vertices of a triangle); triangle moth: see sense 9 above.
triangled adjective (now rare) (a) triangular; (b) arranged in a triangle; (c) Heraldry divided into triangles by crossing lines: L15.