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.

Gaussian curve with a two-dimensional domain

Types of shapes
Curves
  • The Fish bladder is the intersection of two congruent disks, each centered on the perimeter of the other
  • Bicorn
  • Astroid
  • Tomahawk curve, with its handle and spike thickened

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
  • Aquiline, shaped like an eagle's beak (as in a Roman nose)
  • 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 »)
  • Doughnut shape
  • Egg-shaped, see "Oval", below
  • Vesica or Lens shape (the latter taking its name from the shape of the lentil seed); see also mandorla, almond-shaped
  • 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
  • Inverted bell
  • Lune, from the Latin word for the Moon
  • Maltese Cross curve[5]
  • Mandorla, almond-shaped (Italian for "almond"), often used as a frame in mediaeval Christian iconography.
  • Mushroom shape, which became infamous as a result of the mushroom cloud[6]
  • 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
  • Scarabaeus curve[7] resembling a scarab
  • Serpentine, shaped like a snake
  • Stadium, two half-circles joined by straight sides[8]
  • Stirrup curve[9]
  • Star a figure with multiple sharp points
  • Sunburst
  • Tomahawk

Numbers and letters
  • 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-line skirt or dress
  • B-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter B
  • C-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter C
  • D-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter D
  • Deltoid, the shape that resembles the Greek capital letter Δ
  • E-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter E
  • F-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter F
  • Figure 0, the shape that resembles the numeral 0
  • Figure 1, the shape that resembles the numeral 1
  • Figure 2, the shape that resembles the numeral 2
  • Figure 3, the shape that resembles the numeral 3
  • Figure 4, the shape that resembles the numeral 4
  • Figure 5, the shape that resembles the numeral 5
  • Figure 6, the shape that resembles the numeral 6
  • Figure 7, the shape that resembles the numeral 7
  • Figure 8, the shape that resembles the numeral 8
  • Figure 9, the shape that resembles the numeral 9
  • G-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter G
  • H-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter H
  • I-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter I in a serif font, i.e., with horizontal strokes
  • 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
  • Lemniscate, the shape that resembles the numeral ∞
  • M-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter M (interchangeable with the W-shape)
  • 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
  • P-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter P
    • P-trap, a P-shaped pipe under a sink or basin
  • Q-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter Q
  • R-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter R
  • S-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter S
  • T-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter T
  • U-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter U
  • Hyoid, the shape that resembles the Greek letter υ
  • V-shape, the shape that resembles the letter V, also known as the Chevron (which includes the inverted-V shape)
  • W-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter W (interchangeable with the M-shape)
    • W-shaped recession
  • X-shape, the shape that resembles the letter X
  • Chiasm, crossings that resemble the Greek letter χ
  • Y-shape, the shape that resembles the letter Y
  • Z-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter Z (interchangeable with the N-shape)

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". MathWorld. Wolfram. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  2. "Butterfly Curve". MathWorld. Wolfram. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  3. "Bicorn". MathWorld. Wolfram. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  4. "Cassini Ovals". MathWorld. Wolfram. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  5. "Maltese Cross Curve". MathWorld. Wolfram. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  6. "Area of a mushroom-shaped curve". Mathematics. Stack Exchange. 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  7. "Scarabaeus". MathWorld. Wolfram. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  8. "Stadium – from Wolfram MathWorld". Mathworld.wolfram.com. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  9. "Stirrup Curve". MathWorld. Wolfram. 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
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