rhizoverbBeta
DictionarytrapeziumQuadrilateral without parallel sides
noun

trapezium

truh-PEE-zee-um/trəˈpiːziəm/

A four-sided figure with no parallel sides, in American usage.

A trapezium has four straight sides, none parallel to another.

One clear irregular convex four-sided polygon with NO parallel sides, vertices at unequal angles, thin black boundary and pale blue fill; no labels.
Etymology
traGreekfour
+peziumGreekfoot, edge

The “four-foot” table word became “little table,” then a quadrilateral, reportedly because Greek tables had unequal opposite sides. The term later exchanged geometric senses with trapezoid, explaining differing conventions about parallel sides.

More examples

  • Draw a trapezium and label each of its four corners.
  • The angles inside a trapezium add up to 360 degrees.
  • The students sort the trapeziums into a separate group.

Forms

trapezium · trapeziums · trapezia

Similar words

quadrilateral
A broader term for any figure with four straight sides.
trapezoid
Has a pair of parallel sides, unlike a trapezium.