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n. pl. ver·ti·ces (-tĭ-sēz′) also ver·tex·es 1. The highest point; the apex or summit: the vertex of a mountain. 2. Anatomy a. The highest point of the skull. b. The top of the head. 3. In astrology, the highest point reached in the apparent motion of a celestial body. 4. Mathematics a. The point at which the sides of an angle intersect. b. The point on a triangle or pyramid opposite to and farthest away from its base. c. A point on a polyhedron common to three or more sides. d. A point of maximal curvature on a parabola or hyperbola. [Latin, whirlpool, crown of the head (where the hair forms a whorl), vertex, from vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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