Defining the Term Oblong

Date: 05/15/2000 at 08:21:07
From: Daniel Copley
Subject: Oblong

Can you give a definition of the term "oblong"? Is it a rectangle 
whose sides are not equal? That is, "rectangle" being a generic term 
for a quadrilateral with four right angles, subdivided into:

   (1) squares: equal-sided rectangles, and
   (2) oblongs: non-equal-sided rectangles?

Date: 05/15/2000 at 12:11:19
From: Doctor Douglas
Subject: Re: Oblong

Hi Daniel,

Yes, I use the term "oblong" to mean a rectangle that has one pair of 
parallel sides longer than the other pair. The dictionary says that 
the shape is not necessarily rectangular (e.g. a sphere or circle can 
be stretched along one direction), but I have only rarely heard it 
used for shapes other than rectangles.

- Doctor Douglas, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/