Spot the Frippet: vertex.

It's Monday morning, so let's start at the top: or, to give us a veneer of technical understanding to our discourse, the vertex.

A vertex is the highest point of something, though being a highest point isn't always enough. The Netherlands, for instance, has a highest point:


Vaalserberg, The Netherlands. Photo by Tk420 

but although it's a point, as you can see it's not actually pointy, and a vertex usually has to be pointy (though possibly not in your own case, because you carry a rather rounded vertex around with you wherever you go (it's the crown of your head)). 

In Maths, the word vertex can be used in many ways, but most straightforwardly a vertex is any point of a many-sided straight-sided shape, whether it's flat like a hexagon or three-dimensional like a Toblerone.


photo by Ashley Pomeroy

In astrology, a vertex is a point located in the western hemisphere of a chart (the right-hand side) that represents the intersection of the ecliptic and the prime vertical. 

I have absolutely no idea what this means, but fortunately it's all rot, anyway, so it doesn't matter.

I hope you have fun spotting some vertexes - or, if you're feeling technical, some vertices.

In any case, I always find that a nice irregular plural illuminates the day.

Spot the Frippet: vertex. This word means highest point in Latin, and comes from vertere, which means to turn.