Number & MeasureGreek → English
Scalene
/ˈskeɪliːn/adjective
Having three sides of different lengths, said of a triangle.
The Greek roots
σκαληνός
skalēnós
uneven, limping
Literally: “uneven”
Follow a root:σκαληνός1 word
The story of the word
σκαληνός described anything lopsided, from a rough road to a person's gait. Geometry pinned it to the triangle with no two sides equal, and English took that sense in the 17th century. Anatomy then borrowed it again for the three neck muscles that form an uneven triangle above the first rib, which is why a physiotherapist and a geometer can both use the word with a straight face.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
In a sentence
Not one angle matched, so the triangle was scalene.