vertex

[vur-teks] /ˈvɜr tɛks/
noun, plural vertexes, vertices
[vur-tuh-seez] /ˈvɜr təˌsiz/ (Show IPA)
1.
the highest point of something; apex; summit; top:
the vertex of a mountain.
2.
Anatomy, Zoology. the crown or top of the head.
3.
Craniometry. the highest point on the midsagittal plane of the skull or head viewed from the left side when the skull or head is in the Frankfurt horizontal.
4.
Astronomy. a point in the celestial sphere toward which or from which the common motion of a group of stars is directed.
5.
Geometry.
  1. the point farthest from the base:
    the vertex of a cone or of a pyramid.
  2. a point in a geometrical solid common to three or more sides.
  3. the intersection of two sides of a plane figure.
Origin
1560-70; < Latin: a whirl, top (of the head), equivalent to vert(ere) to turn + -ex (stem -ic-) noun suffix
Can be confused
vertex, vortex.
Examples from the web for vertex
  • The more extensive the baldness on top, called vertex baldness, the higher the risk.
  • Moreover, the self-correcting mechanism must spring into being spontaneously when the vertex of the pile reaches a certain angle.
  • She chooses one of the six copies at random, places it on the table and covers each vertex with a paper cup.
  • The cells are usually hexagons and one tower with a tri-dimensional antenna sits at the vertex of three cells.
  • To the left you see the excepted triangle plots, with each vertex representing an ancestral component.
  • As a specific example, one question concerned how far various particles traveled from a primary interaction vertex in a detector.
  • To delete a vertex, place the pointer over a shaded vertex box and press the delete key.
  • That is, every vertex of the graph is incident to exactly one edge of the matching.
British Dictionary definitions for vertex

vertex

/ˈvɜːtɛks/
noun (pl) -texes, -tices (-tɪˌsiːz)
1.
the highest point
2.
(maths)
  1. the point opposite the base of a figure
  2. the point of intersection of two sides of a plane figure or angle
  3. the point of intersection of a pencil of lines or three or more planes of a solid figure
3.
(astronomy) a point in the sky towards which a star stream appears to move
4.
(anatomy) the crown of the head
Word Origin
C16: from Latin: highest point, from vertere to turn
Word Origin and History for vertex
n.

1560s, "the point opposite the base in geometry," from Latin vertex "highest point," literally "the turning point," originally "whirling column, whirlpool," from vertere "to turn" (see versus). Meaning "highest point of anything" is first attested 1641.

vertex in Medicine

vertex ver·tex (vûr'těks')
n. pl. ver·tex·es or ver·ti·ces (-tĭ-sēz')

  1. The highest point; the apex.

  2. The topmost point of the vault of the skull; the crown of the head.

  3. The portion of the fetal head bounded by the planes of the trachelobregmatic and biparietal diameters, with the posterior fontanel at the apex.

vertex in Science
vertex
  (vûr'těks')   
Plural vertices (vûr'tĭ-sēz') or vertexes

  1. The point at which the sides of an angle intersect.

  2. The point of a triangle, cone, or pyramid that is opposite to and farthest away from its base.

  3. A point of a polyhedron at which three or more of the edges intersect.