tortuosity
|tor-tu-o-si-ty|
🇺🇸
/ˌtɔrˈtuːəsɪti/
🇬🇧
/ˌtɔːrˈtjuːɒsɪti/
twistedness; windingness
Etymology
'tortuosity' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'tortuositas', where 'tortu-' (from 'torquere') meant 'to twist'.
'tortuosity' changed from Latin 'tortuositas' into Medieval/Old French and then into Middle English forms such as 'tortuous' and eventually produced the modern English noun 'tortuosity'.
Initially, it meant 'the quality of being twisted', but over time it evolved into its current meanings including 'windingness' and more abstract senses of 'indirectness' or 'complexity'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the quality or state of being tortuous: full of twists, turns, or bends; winding.
The tortuosity of the mountain road made the drive slow and difficult.
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Noun 2
in technical contexts (biology, engineering, geology), the degree to which a path, vessel, or structure is twisted or has many turns (often measured as a ratio or index).
Researchers measured the tortuosity of blood vessels to assess vascular disease.
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Noun 3
figuratively, indirectness or complexity in form or argument — the quality of being not straightforward.
The tortuosity of the legal language made the contract hard to interpret.
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Last updated: 2025/10/19 19:11