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vertex

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ver·tex

   [vur-teks]
noun, plural -tex·es, -ti·ces  [-tuh-seez] .
1.
the highest point of something; apex; summit; top: the vertex of a mountain.
2.
Anatomy, Zoology. the crown or top of the head.
3.
Craniometry. the highest point on the midsagittal plane of the skull or head viewed from the left side when the skull or head is in the Frankfurt horizontal.
4.
Astronomy. a point in the celestial sphere toward which or from which the common motion of a group of stars is directed.
5.
Geometry.
a.
the point farthest from the base: the vertex of a cone or of a pyramid.
b.
a point in a geometrical solid common to three or more sides.
c.
the intersection of two sides of a plane figure.
Origin:
1560–70; < Latin: a whirl, top (of the head), equivalent to vert(ere) to turn + -ex (stem -ic-) noun suffix

Can be confused: vertex, vortex.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Vertex is always a great word to know.
So is artery. Does it mean:
a blood vessel that conveys blood from the heart to any part of the body
a natural division or groove in an organ, as in the brain
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Example Sentences
  • The more extensive the baldness on top, called vertex baldness, the higher the risk.
  • Moreover, the self-correcting mechanism must spring into being spontaneously when the vertex of the pile reaches a certain angle.
  • At each vertex there is an office that manages a different operation of his company.
Collins
World English Dictionary
vertex (ˈvɜːtɛks)
 
—n , pl -texes, -tices
1.  the highest point
2.  maths
 a.  the point opposite the base of a figure
 b.  the point of intersection of two sides of a plane figure or angle
 c.  the point of intersection of a pencil of lines or three or more planes of a solid figure
3.  astronomy a point in the sky towards which a star stream appears to move
4.  anatomy the crown of the head
 
[C16: from Latin: highest point, from vertere to turn]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

vertex
1570, "the point opposite the base in geometry," from L. vertex "highest point," lit. "the turning point," originally "whirling column, whirlpool," from vertere "to turn" (see versus). Meaning "highest point of anything" is first attested 1641.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

vertex ver·tex (vûr'těks')
n. pl. ver·tex·es or ver·ti·ces (-tĭ-sēz')

  1. The highest point; the apex.

  2. The topmost point of the vault of the skull; the crown of the head.

  3. The portion of the fetal head bounded by the planes of the trachelobregmatic and biparietal diameters, with the posterior fontanel at the apex.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
vertex   (vûr'těks')  Pronunciation Key 
Plural vertices (vûr'tĭ-sēz') or vertexes

  1. The point at which the sides of an angle intersect.

  2. The point of a triangle, cone, or pyramid that is opposite to and farthest away from its base.

  3. A point of a polyhedron at which three or more of the edges intersect.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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