ENGLISH
REFERENCE

octagon

n.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈɑktəˌɡɑn// UK //ˈɒktəɡən// oc·tagon

n. a shape with eight straight sides and eight corners. It looks like a stop sign or a round table with eight legs.

n. a polygon with eight sides and eight angles. Often used to describe architectural or traffic-related structures.


SIMPLE

The stop sign is an octagon.

CONTEXTUAL

The architect designed the building with an octagon at the center to maximize the amount of natural light.

COMPLEX

The ancient temple features a central octagon surrounded by smaller rooms, creating a unique visual symmetry that reflects the cultural significance of the number eight.

Origin

From Latin octagōnon, octōgōnon (“octagon”), and from its etymon Ancient Greek ὀκτάγωνον (oktágōnon, “octagon”), probably from Koine Greek ὀκτάγωνος (oktágōnos, “having eight corners”) + -ον (-on, suffix forming nouns). ὀκτάγωνος is derived from ὀκτᾰ- (oktă-, prefix meaning ‘eight’) (from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European oḱtṓw (“eight”)) + γωνία (gōnía, “angle; corner”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵónu (“knee”)); analysable as octa- + -gon. The English word is cognate with Middle French octogone (modern French octogone), Italian octagono (obsolete), ottagono, Spanish octágono, octógono. Sense 2 (“arena for mixed martial arts”) refers to its shape.

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