From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Perpendicular \Per'pen*dic"u*lar\, adjective [L. perpendicularis, perpendicularius: cf. F. perpendiculaire. See {Perpendicle}, {Pension}.]
1. Exactly upright or vertical; pointing to the zenith; at right angles to the plane of the horizon; extending in a right line from any point toward the center of the earth.
2. (Geom.) At right angles to a given line or surface; as, the line ad is perpendicular to the line bc.
{Perpendicular style} (Arch.), a name given to the latest variety of English Gothic architecture, which prevailed from the close of the 14th century to the early part of the 16th; -- probably so called from the vertical style of its window mullions.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Perpendicular \Per'pen*dic"u*lar\, noun
1. A line at right angles to the plane of the horizon; a vertical line or direction.
2. (Geom.) A line or plane falling at right angles on another line or surface, or making equal angles with it on each side.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: intersecting at or forming right angles; "the axes are perpendicular to each other" [ant: {oblique}, {parallel}]
2: at right angles to the plane of the horizon or a base line; "a vertical camera angle"; "the monument consists of two vertical pillars supporting a horizontal slab"; "measure the perpendicular height" [syn: {vertical}] [ant: {inclined}, {horizontal}]
3: extremely steep; "the great perpendicular face of the cliff"
noun
1: a straight line at right angles to another line
2: a Gothic style in 14th and 15th century England; characterized by vertical lines and a four-centered (Tudor) arch and fan vaulting [syn: {perpendicular style}, {English-Gothic}, {English-Gothic architecture}]
3: a cord from which a metal weight is suspended pointing directly to the earth's center of gravity; used to determine the vertical from a given point [syn: {plumb line}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
49 Moby Thesaurus words for "perpendicular": air line, axis, azimuth circle, beeline, chord, diagonal, diameter, direct line, directrix, edge, erect, great-circle course, normal, orthodiagonal, orthogonal, orthometric, plumb, plunging, precipitous, radius, radius vector, rectangular, right angle, right line, right-angle, right-angled, right-angular, secant, segment, sheer, shortcut, side, stand-up, steep, straight, straight course, straight line, straight stretch, straight-up, straight-up-and-down, straightaway, streamline, tangent, transversal, up-and-down, upright, vector, vertical, vertical circle
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