antipedal
|an-ti-ped-al|
/ˌæn.tiˈpɛd.əl/
opposite/contrasting to 'pedal' (technical: antipedal construction)
Etymology
'antipedal' originates from Greek and Latin, specifically the Greek prefix 'anti-' meaning 'against, opposite' and the Latin root 'pes, ped-' (via Late Latin 'pedalis') meaning 'foot', which is the source of English 'pedal'.
'antipedal' formed in modern English by combining the prefix 'anti-' with 'pedal'; 'pedal' itself traces back through Middle English and Old French to Latin 'pes/pedis' and Late Latin 'pedalis', and the compound has been used in technical contexts (notably geometry) since modern times.
Initially formed to mean 'opposite of (or opposed to) pedal/foot-related', the term acquired a specialized geometric sense referring to constructions such as the 'antipedal triangle' (the notion of opposition here becoming a technical relation to pedal constructions).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a geometric figure (commonly a triangle) that is the antipedal of a given point with respect to a reference triangle; specifically, the triangle formed by the intersections of lines through the reference triangle's vertices that are perpendicular to the lines joining those vertices with the given point.
Construct the antipedal of point P with respect to triangle ABC to analyze its properties.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 1
relating to or characteristic of an antipedal construction; in geometry, describing lines, triangles, or other figures formed with respect to a given point by drawing through the vertices lines perpendicular to the lines joining the vertices with that point (e.g., 'antipedal lines', 'antipedal triangle').
They examined the antipedal lines corresponding to point P in the configuration.
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/06 11:11