Glossary of shapes with metaphorical names

Many shapes have metaphorical names, i.e., their names are metaphors: these shapes are named after a most common object that has it. For example, "U-shape" is a shape that resembles the letter U, a bell-shaped curve has the shape of the vertical cross-section of a bell, etc.

These terms may variously refer to objects, their cross sections or projections.

Some of these names are "classical terms", i.e., words of Latin or Ancient Greek etymology. Others are English language constructs (although the base words may have non-English etymology). In some disciplines, where shapes of subjects in question are a very important consideration, the shape naming may be quite elaborate, see, e.g., the taxonomy of shapes of plant leaves in botany.

• Astroid
• Bell-shaped curve
• Biconic shape, a shape in a way opposite to the hourglass: it is based on two oppositely oriented cones or truncated cones with their bases joined; the cones are not necessarily the same
  • Bowtie shape, in two dimensions
  • Atmospheric reentry apparatus
  • Centerbody of an inlet cone in ramjets
• Bow shape
  • Bow curve
• Bullet Nose^[1] an open-ended hourglass
• Butterfly curve^[2]
• Cocked Hat curve, also known as Bicorn^[3]
• Cone (from the Greek word for « pine cone »)
• Donut shape
• Egg-shaped, see "Oval", below
• Fish bladder or Lens shape (the latter taking its name from the shape of the lentil seed)
• Geoid (From Greek Ge (γη) for "Earth"), the term specifically introduced to denote the approximation of the shape of the Earth, which is approximately spherical, but not exactly so
• Heart shape, long been used for its varied symbolism
• Hourglass shape or hourglass figure, the one that resembles an hourglass; nearly symmetric shape wide at its ends and narrow in the middle; some flat shapes may be alternatively compared to the figure eight or hourglass
  • Dog bone shape, an hourglass with rounded ends^[4]
  • Hourglass corset
  • Ntama
  • Hourglass Nebula
• Inverted bell
• Lune, from the Latin word for the Moon
• Maltese Cross curve^[5]
• Mushroom shape, which became infamous as a result of the mushroom cloud
• Oval (from the Latin "ovum" for egg), a descriptive term applied to several kinds of "rounded" shapes, including the egg shape
• Pear shaped, in reference to the shape of a pear, i.e., a generally rounded shape, tapered towards the top and more spherical/circular at the bottom
• Rod, a 3-dimensional, solid (filled) cylinder
  • Rod shaped bacteria
• Scarabaeus curve^[6] resembling a scarab
• serpentine, shaped like a snake
• Stadium, two half-circles joined by straight sides^[7]
• Stirrup curve^[8]
• Star a figure with multiple sharp points
• Sunburst
• Tomahawk

Numbers and letters

• Figure 8, the shape that resembles the numeral 8, symbol for infinity when laid on its side
• A-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter A
  • A-Frame, the shape of a common structure that resembles the capital letter A
  • A-Frame house, a common style of house construction
  • A-shirt
• C-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter C
• D-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter D
  • D-ring
• Deltoid, the shape that resembles the Greek capital letter Δ
  • Deltahedron
  • Deltoid muscle
  • River delta
• E-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter E
  • Magnetic cores of transformers may be E-shaped
  • A number of notable buildings have an E-shaped floorplan
• H-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter H
  • H-beam, a beam with H-shaped section
  • Goals in several sports (gridiron football (old style), Gaelic football, rugby, hurling) are described as "H-shaped"
• I-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter I in a serif font, i.e., with horizontal strokes
  • I-beam, a beam with an I-shaped section
  • The court in the Mesoamerican ballgame is I-shaped
• J-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter J
• K-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter K
  • K Turn
• L-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter L
  • The L-Shaped Room
  • L game
  • L-shaped recession
• N-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter N (interchangeable with the Z-shape)
• O-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter O
  • O-ring
• P-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter P
  • P-trap, a P-shaped pipe under a sink or basin
• S-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter S
  • The sigmoid colon, an S-shaped bend in the human intestine
• T-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter T
  • T junction
  • T-shaped (chemistry)
  • T-shaped skills, a format for résumés
  • T-shirt
• U-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter U
  • U-shaped valley
  • U-turn
  • U-shaped recession
• Hyoid, the shape that resembles the Greek letter υ
  • Hyoid bone
• V-shape, the shape that resembles the letter V, also known as the Chevron (which includes the inverted-V shape)
  • V-shaped valley
  • V-shaped recession
  • V-shaped body – male human body shape with broad shoulders
  • V-shaped passage grave
  • V sign
• W-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter W
  • W-shaped recession
• X-shape, the shape that resembles the letter X
  • Saltire
• Chiasm, crossings that resemble the Greek letter Χ
  • Chiasmus
  • Chiastic structure
  • Optic chiasm
• Y-shape, the shape that resembles the letter Y
  • Y-front briefs

See also

• List of geometric shapes
• The Category:Curves lists numerous metaphorical names, such as
  • Bean curves, also called Nephroids, from the Greek word for kidney

References

1. "Bullet Nose – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
2. "Butterfly Curve – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
3. "Bicorn – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
4. "Cassini Ovals – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
5. "Maltese Cross Curve – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
6. "Scarabaeus – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
7. "Stadium – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
8. "Stirrup Curve – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.