vertical

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvɝ.tɪ.kəl/, /ˈvɝ.tə.kəl/; /ˈvɜː.tɪ.kəl/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French vertical and directly borrowed from Late Latin verticalis (“overhead”),^[2][3][4] from Latin vertex (“highest point, summit”) (genitive verticis) (see vertex).^[3][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or at the vertex, directly overhead: 1559, in vertical point (the zenith) and vertical circle.^[2][6][4] Etymonline dates it to the 1550s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Of the sun or stars, directly overhead, is from 1594,^[6] and in geometry, of the angle opposite the base of a figure, from 1571.^[6] Perpendicular to the horizon, upright, is attested by 1704.^[3] The noun, the vertical position or line, is from 1834.^[3] In economics, vertical integration combines successive stages of production.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1559 – at the zenith.^[2][6]
• 1571 – in geometry.^[6]
• 1594 – of the sun, overhead.^[6]
• 1704 – upright.^[3]
• 1834 – the vertical (noun).^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. At right angles to a horizontal plane; upright.
2. (anatomy) Relating to the crown of the head.
3. Involving different levels of a hierarchy or stages of production.

Noun

1. A vertical line, plane or position.

Word family

• verticality
• vertically
• verticalness
• nonvertical
• subvertical
• vertical angle
• vertical stabilizer
• vertical circle

Related words

• vertex
• vortex
• vertigo
• convert
• version

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press