Trapezoid (pronounced trap-uh-zoid)
(1) In
British English, a quadrilateral plane figure having no parallel sides.
(2) In
US English, a quadrilateral plane figure having two parallel and two non-parallel
sides.
(3) In
anatomy, a small bone in the wrist that is situated near the base of the index
finger and that articulates with the second metacarpal, trapezium, capitate,
and scaphoid bones.
1706:
From the New Latin trapezoīdēs, from
the Late Greek trapezoeidḗs (trapezium-like in shape), coined by the mathematician
Euclid (4th-3rd century BC) from trapeze (literally “table”) + -oeides
(shaped). Originally it described a quadrilateral
figure a quadrilateral figure having only two sides parallel, the purists
insisting that describes a trapezium. The
terms trapezium and trapezoid have swapped meanings in North America compared
with the rest of the world. Trapezoid
& trapezium are nouns, trapezoidal is an adjective; the noun plural is trapezoids
or trapeziums depending on one's definition.
The
trapezoid’s different definitions
Of all
the squabbles in the world, one of the most improbably enduring concerns the definition
of what constitutes a trapezoid.
Disagreements between mathematicians are of course not unusual and those
involving the efficacy of this or that proof of some arcane have lasted
sometimes centuries but differences over the definition of something basic are
rare. They do however happen. It was once the case that in the UK the value
of a billion was held to be a million millions, on the logical basis that a
million was a thousand thousands. The Americans
decided that was silly because a number expressing a million millions was (at
the time) of use only to cosmologists and argued, no less logically that to set
a billion at a thousand millions would make it genuinely useful. In the end, thankfully, the US view
prevailed.
An irregular quadrilateral in the UK, a trapezium in the US (left); a trapezium in the UK, a trapezoid in the US (right).
But it
seems strange there could be differences over what makes a trapezoid, a flat 2D
shape with four straight sides. Classically,
it had one pair of parallel sides (usually the top and bottom); the parallel called
the bases, the non-parallel the legs (the distance from one base to another is
known as the altitude). The faction
which holds a trapezoid has only one pair of parallel sides (meaning they can
never be parallelograms) adheres to what’s known as the exclusive definition. The others (now in the majority) believe trapezoids
have at least one pair of parallel sides, so they can be a special type of
parallelogram and this is known as the inclusive definition which encompasses
the “taxonomy of quadrilaterals” (an ordered group category of quadrilaterals (four-sided
shapes)). In the US and Canada a
quadrilateral shape with at least one pair of parallel sides is known as a
trapezoid. This is what is called a trapezium outside those countries
Fortunately,
mathematicians everywhere agree there are three main types of trapezoids:
(1) The
right trapezoid (a shape with a pair of right angles).
(2) Isosceles
trapezoid (a shape in which the non-parallel sides have the same length).
(3) Scalene
trapezoid (a shape where all four sides are of unequal length).
Peugeot 504 with the original “trapezoid” headlamp lens (left), the four-lamp arrangement used in the US, Australia (after 1973) and some export markets (centre) and the single light adopted for the “poverty spec” & later utility models (right).
The
Peugeot 504 in one form or another was in production for almost half a century,
lasting from 1968 until 2006 although the mainstream (non-utility) models were
discontinued in France in 1983. A
machine of extraordinary virtue which was refined enough for European roads yet
sufficiently robust successfully to endure the harsh conditions often found in
the former colonies of the old French Empire, it also gained an admiring
audience in rural Australia where distances were vast, roads often rough and mechanics
sometimes hard to find. Among cars using
a conventional suspension (no hydraulics, air bellows or other exotica), only Jaguar’s
equally remarkable XJ6 (another debutante from 1968) could match its ride
quality. The 504’s headlights were often
described as trapezoid but that was never true (on either side of the Atlantic)
because not only were no two sides parallel, the outer was actually
curved. At most they could be could be
thought trapezoidish or trapezoidesque but some were not even that. As a means to assist in producing low-cost
variants, some were made with a single, circular lamp instead cost-saving
measure while versions with four (smaller) were offered in some markets. In the US this was to satisfy laws introduced
as an industry-protection measure while in Australia it was to assist in
meeting the local content rules which offered taxation advantages for the
assembly plants although the change was popular with rural buyers used to
frequently broken lights on their unsealed roads, the round units cheap and
available at every gas station or country store. In November 2010, it was announced President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (b 1956; president of the Islamic Republic or Iran
2005-2013) would be auctioning his 1977 Peugeot 504 to raise money for a
charity dedicated to providing affordable housing for low-income families. With low mileage and said to be in immaculate
condition, there was much interest and what proved to be the most expensive 504
ever made was sold in march 2011 to the highest bidder for US$2.5 million.
Peugeot 504 Coupé: The early headlamp treatment (1969-1974, left) and the later (1974-1983, centre). The 2018 Peugeot E-Legend concept car (right).
The rather
lovely 504 coupé & cabriolet (1969-1983) both eschewed the trapezoidesque,
the early versions using four lamps sometimes described a “quartic” but, being rectangles
with rounded ends, they’re actually closer to what mathematicians call a “stadium”. Later models used essentially the same
internals but were mounted behind a single lens in a shape called a “rounded rectangle”. Although not quintessentially “French” like
the classic Citroëns (DS, GS, SM, CX), the 504 coupé & cabriolet were
elegant and capable and it a shame the French industry had produced nothing to
match them in recent decades. Peugeot’s
designers however seem aware of the appeal and in 2018 displayed their E-Legend
concept car, an attractive take on the 504 coupé’s lines. Nothing like it ever reached production and
the range remained dreary and predictable.
The trapezoid is a widely used shape for handbags. Noted handbag fan Lindsay Lohan demonstrates some of the variations.
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