Meanings
- not comparablegeometryHaving (at least) two sides of equal length, used especially of a triangle or trapezoid.
Upon each exterior side draw an Isosceles Triangle of 480 Fathoms.
1693, Abel Swall, transl., The New Method of Fortification, as Practised by Monsieur de Vavban, Engineer General of France, 2nd edition, "A New Treatise of Fortification", page 964 more examples
A right double pyramid is isosceles when the extremities of the vertex-edge are at the same distance from the plane of the base.
1914, Henry Parker Manning, Geometry of Four Dimensions, page 204To prepare for the application of his method, Saccheri made use of a figure with which we are already acquainted. This is the isosceles quadrilateral with the two base angles right angles.
1945, Harold E. Wolfe, Introduction to Non-Euclidean Geometry, page 31The polygon advantageously is an isosceles trapezoid or rectangle with the pivotal connections between the deck or superstructure and four hulls respectively at its corners.
1965 April 8, Newton B. Dismukes, “Multihull vessels (Patent US3316873A)”, in Google PatentsThe flowers were stuck inside a flower pot that was shaped like an isosceles polygon with a rectangular "edge."
2019 January 23, Altered Book Lover, “Funky Flowers”, in Blogspot
Synonyms & antonyms
adjective(of a triangle) having two sides of equal length
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἰσοσκελής“equal-legged”
- Latinīsoscelēs
- Englishisosceles
Borrowed from Latin īsoscelēs, from Ancient Greek ἰσοσκελής (isoskelḗs, “equal-legged”), from ἴσος (ísos, “equal”) + σκέλος (skélos, “leg”) + -ής (-ḗs, adjective suffix). See also iso-.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἰσοσκελής
- ἰσοσκελής (isoskelḗs)having two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Bulgarian равнобедрен
- равнобедрен (ravnobedren)having two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Catalan isòsceles
- isòsceleshaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Chinese Mandarin 等腰
- 等腰 (děngyāo)having two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Czech rovnoramenný
- rovnoramennýhaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Dutch gelijkbenig
- gelijkbenighaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Finnish tasakylkinen
- tasakylkinenhaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
French isocèle
- isocèlehaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
German gleichschenklig
- gleichschenklighaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Hebrew שווה שוקיים
- שווה שוקיים (shvé shokáim)having two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Hindi समद्विबाहु
- समद्विबाहु (samdvibāhu)having two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Hungarian egyenlő szárú
- egyenlő szárúhaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Irish comhchosach
- comhchosachhaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Italian isoscele, equicrure
- isoscelehaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
- equicrurehaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Latin īsoscelēs
- īsoscelēshaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Lithuanian lygiašonis
- lygiašonishaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Polish równoramienny
- równoramiennyhaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Portuguese isósceles, isóscele
- isósceleshaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
- isóscelehaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Romanian isoscel
- isoscelhaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Russian равнобе́дренный
- равнобе́дренный (ravnobédrennyj)having two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Spanish isósceles
- isósceleshaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Swedish likbent
- likbenthaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Tagalog kaduhain
- kaduhainhaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Welsh isosgeles
- isosgeleshaving two sides of equal length, used especially of an isosceles triangle or trapezoid
Cite this entry
isosceles. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/isosceles
“isosceles.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/isosceles. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “isosceles,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/isosceles.
Source: isosceles on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.