oblong, a. and n.
(ˈɒblɒŋ)
[ad. L. oblong-us somewhat long, longish, (later) oblong; f. ob- + longus long. Cf. F. oblong (Cotgr.).
The exact force of the prefix in oblongus is obscure: there is no analogous word in Latin.]
A. adj.
1. Elongated in one direction (usually as a deviation from an exact square or circular form); having the chief axis considerably longer than the transverse diameter; spec. in Geom., Rectangular with the adjacent sides unequal.
† oblong marrow, the medulla oblongata (obs.). oblong spheroid, a prolate spheroid.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 1098 Make pipis..The cellis square oblonge, as x in breede As for xv in lengthe, is out to sprede. 1611 Cotgr., Oblong, oblong, somewhat long. 1657 S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. 4 [The Bee's] shape is little, brown, bowing, oblong. 1658 Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus ii. 119 The beds of the Ancients were different from ours..being framed ob-long. 1706 Phillips, Oblong,..of a Figure, inclining to long, longish, or somewhat long. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 384 The egg..though round when in the body, yet becomes much more oblong than those of fowls, upon being excluded. 1777 W. Dalrymple Trav. Sp. & Port. lvi, An antient wall with towers, forming a kind of oblong square. 1801 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) Suppl. II. 305/1 Oblong spheroid..is formed by an ellipse revolved about its longer or transverse axis; in contradistinction from the oblate spheroid. 1834 M. Somerville Connex. Phys. Sc. xiii. (1849) 104 The waters thus attracted by the moon would assume the form of an oblong spheroid. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. iii. (1856) 27 It was in shape an oblong cube. |
b. Bot. and Ent. (See quots.)
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Leaf, Oblong Leaf, one the length of which is many times equal to its breadth, and the extremities of which are both too narrow to form segments of circles. 1776 J. Lee Introd. Bot. Explan. Terms 383 Oblongum, oblong, twice the Length of its Breadth. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. 261 Oblong, having the longitudinal diameter more than twice the length of the transverse, and the ends varying, or rounded. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. VI. 171 Oblong Woodsia... Frond lanceolate or oblong, pinnate, hairy beneath. |
c. Of a sheet of paper, page, book, picture, panel, postage stamp, etc.: Rectangular, with the breadth greater than the height: as an oblong octavo, opposed to an ordinary or upright octavo.
| 1888 in Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 89. 1898 Kegan Paul's List of Publications, Sizes of Books..the breadth being greater than the height—the size is described as ‘oblong’ 8vo., ‘oblong’ 4to. &c. |
† 2. fig. Disproportionately long, drawn out. Obs. nonce-use.
| 1643 P. Bales Oratio Dom. 12 Their prayers are oblong and tedious, for they are..sometimes..three houres long. |
3. Comb. (Bot.) in definitions of form, implying an oblong modification of another shape; as oblong-acuminate, oblong-cordate, oblong-elliptic, oblong-hastate, oblong-ovate, oblong-wedgeshaped, etc., adjs.; also oblong-leaved adj.
| 1769 Ellis in Phil. Trans. LIX. 139 note, Little oblong-oval seed vessels. 1776–96 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 138 Leafits..obtusely oval, or oblong-wedgeshaped. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 630 The three species of cinchona used officinally..the lance-leaved,..heart-leaved,..and oblong-leaved. 1847 W. E. Steele Field Bot. 9 Lower leaves oblong-lanceolate. Ibid. 196 Fruit oblong-obovate. Ibid. 199 Fruit patent, oblong-acuminate. Ibid. 203 Barren spikes..oblong-cylindrical. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 34 Radical leaves oblong-rhomboid or ovate not cordate. Ibid. 198 Leaves oblong-cordate. Ibid. 316 Leaves more oblong-hastate. Ibid. 353 Spikes oblong-pyramidal. |
B. n. An oblong figure, or something having an oblong form; spec. in Geom., A rectangle of greater length than breadth.
| a 1608 Sir F. Vere Comm. 124 Stretched out in the form of a geometrical oblique or oblong. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. xvii. 60 Stoop to divide clay or dirt into squares or oblongs. 1787 M. Cutler in Life, Jrnls. & Corr. (1888) I. 330 Were the ends increased..I should prefer an oblong to a square. 1849 Grote Greece ii. lxx. (1862) VI. 256 Xenophon then moved..that the march should be in a hollow oblong, with the baggage in the centre. 1890 Proctor Other Worlds ii. 38 Each image would also be a horizontally-placed oblong. |
Hence ˈoblongness. rare—0.
| 1727 Bailey vol. II, Oblongness, oblong Form, or the being of the Form of a long Square. |