tessellate

T1E1S1S1E1L1L1A1T1E1
/ˈtɛsəleɪt/

adjective

tessellated

“Regular hexagons tessellate.”

OriginLatin tessellātu ← Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares) ← Proto-Hellenic *kʷétwores →
Scrabble 10
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Meanings

adjective

alternative tesselate

  1. tessellated
verbtessellate (third-person singular simple present tessellates, present participle tessellating, simple past and past participle tessellated)

present singular third person tessellates · participle present tessellating · participle past tessellated · past tessellated · alternative tesselate

  1. transitiveTo cover with tiles or stones, as a mosaic; to tile.
  2. intransitivegeometryto cover a two-dimensional shape, such that multiple copies of itself placed edge to edge cover an area leaving no space between the shapes.

    Regular hexagons tessellate.

  3. transitivegeometryTo completely fill (an area) when multiple copies of one or more two-dimensional shapes are placed edge to edge.

    It is possible to tessellate the plane with equilateral triangles and regular hexagons.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷetwóres
  2. Proto-Hellenic*kʷétwores
  3. Ancient Greekτέσσαρες (téssares)
  4. Latintessera
  5. Latintessella
  6. Latintessellātu
  7. Englishtessellate

Learned borrowing from Latin tessellātus, from tessella, diminutive of tessera; from Ancient Greek τέσσαρες (téssares), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German kacheln, pflastern
  • kachelnto cover with tiles or stones
  • pflasternto cover with tiles or stones
  • tessellierento completely fill with multiple copies of a two-dimensional shape edge to edge
  • parkettierento completely fill with multiple copies of a two-dimensional shape edge to edge
Māori rōpinepine
  • rōpinepineto cover with tiles or stones
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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