dodecahedron
/ˌdəʊ.dɛk.əˈhiː.dɹən/
dodecahedron · noun — A polyhedron with twelve faces; the regular dodecahedron has regular pentagons as faces and is one of the Platonic solids. It carries an Arena rating of 1340, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, dodecahedron ranks #1,514 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words, #1,585 of 17,130 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,745 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say, #4,657 of 17,195 for Most Exacting Words.
dodecahedron is pronounced /ˌdəʊ.dɛk.əˈhiː.dɹən/.
Why “dodecahedron” is a great word
A polyhedron with twelve flat faces, the most familiar form being the regular dodecahedron composed of twelve regular pentagons, one of the five Platonic solids. From Ancient Greek δωδεκάεδρον (dōdekáedron), from δώδεκα (dṓdeka, "twelve") + ἕδρα (hédra, "seat, base, face"), first recorded in English 1560–70. Unlike the icosahedron, with its twenty triangular faces suggesting fluid complexity, or the cube, with its six squares implying stark, earthly stability, the dodecahedron is a sphere of twelve shields, a chamber of secrets. It is the bronze die in the hands of Roman gamblers, its faces worn smooth by chance; the honeycomb cell of a geometry only bees and Plato might understand; the shape a bubble aspires to be when it thinks no one is looking—a cipher for the universe itself, hidden in plain sight.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Ancient Greek δωδεκάεδρον (dōdekáedron). Equivalent to dodeca- + -hedron.
noun
- A polyhedron with twelve faces; the regular dodecahedron has regular pentagons as faces and is one of the Platonic solids.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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