apeirogon

apei·ro·gon
A1P3E1I1R1O1G2O1N1
/əˈpiːɹɵɡɑn//əˈpeɪ̯ɹɵɡɑn/

noun

A type of generalised polygon with a countably infinite number of sides and vertices;

Scrabble 12

Meanings

nounapeirogon (plural apeirogons)

plural apeirogons

  1. geometryA type of generalised polygon with a countably infinite number of sides and vertices;

    Hence the regular polygon ABCD ... can either be a convex n-gon, a star n-gon, a horocylic^([sic – meaning horocyclic]) apeirogon or a hypercyclic apeirogon.

    1984, Coxeter-Festschrift [Mitteilungen aus dem Mathem[atisches] Seminar Giessen], Giessen: Gießen Mathematischen Institut, Justus Liebig-Universität Gießen, page 247
    3 more examples

    In geometry, an apeirogon is a limiting case of a regular polygon. The number of sides in an apeirogon is becoming infinite, so the apeirogon as a whole approaches a circle. A magnified view of a small piece of the apeirogon looks like a straight line.

    1994, Steven Schwartzman, The Words of Mathematics: An Etymological Dictionary of Mathematical Terms Used in English, Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America, →ISBN, page 27

    [A]n apeirogon (infinite regular polygon) is a linear one {∞}, a planar (skew) one (zigzag apeirogon), which is the blend {∞} # { } with a segment, or helix, which is a blend of {∞} with a bounded regular polygon.

    2002, Peter McMullen with Egon Schulte, Abstract Regular Polytopes, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 217

    There are exactly 12 regular apeirohedra that in some sense are reducible and have components that are regular figures of dimensions 1 and 2. These apeirohedra are blends of a planar regular apeirohedron, and a line segment { } or linear apeirogon {∞}. This explains why there are 12 = 6·2 blended (or non-pure) apeirohedra. For example, the blend of the standard square tessellation {4,4} and the infinite apeirogon {∞}, denoted {4,4}#{∞}, is an apeirohedron whose faces are helical apeirogons (over squares), rising above the squares of {4,4}, such that 4 meet at each vertex; the orthogonal projections of {4,4}#{∞} onto their component subspaces recover the original components, the square tessellation and the linear apeirogon.

    2014, Daniel Pellicer with Egon Schulte, “Polygonal Complexes and Graphs for Crystallographic Groups”, in Robert Connelly, Asia Ivić Weiss, Walter Whiteley, editors, Rigidity and Symmetry, New York, N.Y.: Springer, →ISBN, page 331
  2. A type of generalised polygon with a countably infinite number of sides and vertices; (in the regular case) the limit case of an n-sided regular polygon as n increases to infinity and the edge length is fixed; typically imagined as a straight line partitioned into equal segments by an infinite number of equally-spaced points.
    1. geometrythe limit case of an n-sided regular polygon as n increases to infinity and the edge length is fixed; typically imagined as a straight line partitioned into equal segments by an infinite number of equally-spaced points.

Synonyms & antonyms

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Origin

Translations

Bulgarian безкрайноъгълник
  • безкрайноъгълник (bezkrajnoăgălnik)Translations
Finnish ääretönkulmio
  • ääretönkulmioTranslations
French apeirogone
  • apeirogoneTranslations
German Unendlicheck
  • UnendlicheckTranslations
Polish wielokąt z nieskończoną liczbą katów
  • wielokąt z nieskończoną liczbą katówTranslations
Russian апейрого́н, бесконечноуго́льник
  • апейрого́н (apejrogón)Translations
  • бесконечноуго́льник (beskonečnougólʹnik)Translations
Spanish apeirógono
  • apeirógonoTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

apeirogon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apeirogon

MLA

“apeirogon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apeirogon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “apeirogon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apeirogon.

Source: apeirogon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.