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Origin and history of angularity

angularity(n.)

"quality of being angular," 1640s; see angular + -ity.

also from 1640s

Entries linking to angularity

angular(adj.)

1590s, "having an angle or angles, pointy," from Latin angularis "having corners or angles," from angulus "angle, corner" (see angle (n.)). It is attested earlier in an astrological sense, "occupying a cardinal point of the zodiac" (late 14c.). Angulous "having many corners" is from mid-15c. Angular as "measured by an angle" is from 1670s, hence angular motion "motion of a body which moves around a fixed point."

-ity

word-forming element making abstract nouns from adjectives and meaning "condition or quality of being ______," from Middle English -ite, from Old French -ete (Modern French -ité) and directly from Latin -itatem (nominative -itas), suffix denoting state or condition, composed of -i- (from the stem or else a connective) + the common abstract suffix -tas (see -ty (2)).

Roughly, the word in -ity usually means the quality of being what the adjective describes, or concretely an instance of the quality, or collectively all the instances; & the word in -ism means the disposition, or collectively all those who feel it. [Fowler]
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    roundness
    "state of being round or circular," late 14c., from round (adj.) + -ness. Roundness applies with equal freedom to a circle, a sphere, a cylinder, or a cone, and, by extension, to forms that by approach suggest any one of these : as, roundness of limb or cheek. Rotundity now appl
    configuration
    "external form or shape resulting from the disposition and arrangement of parts," 1550s, from Late Latin configurationem (nominative configuratio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin configurare "to fashion after a pattern," from assimilated form of com "with, toge
    jog
    1540s, "to shake up and down," perhaps altered from Middle English shoggen "to shake, jolt, move with a jerk" (late 14c.), a word of uncertain origin. Meanings "touch or push slightly," "stir up or stimulate by hint or push," and "walk or ride with a jolting pace" all are from 16
    crease
    1660s, "long or thin mark made by doubling or folding," altered from creaste "a ridge," perhaps a variant of crest (n.), via meaning "a fold in a length of cloth" (mid-15c.) which produces a "crest." In sports, first in cricket (1779), where originally it was cut into the ground.
    form
    c. 1200, forme, fourme, "semblance, image, likeness," from Old French forme, fourme, "physical form, appearance; pleasing looks; shape, image; way, manner" (12c.), from Latin forma "form, contour, figure, shape; appearance, looks; a fine form, beauty; an outline, a model, pattern
    from
    Old English fram, preposition denoting departure or movement away in time or space, from Proto-Germanic *fra "forward, away from" (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German, Gothic fram "from, away," Old Norse fra "from," fram "forward"), from PIE *pro-mo-, suffixed form of *pro
    zig-zag
    also zigzag, 1712, from French zigzag (1670s), perhaps from German Zickzack (though this is attested only from 1703), possibly a reduplication of Zacke "tooth, prong." Earliest use in German is in reference to military siege approaches. Originally in English used to describe the
    conformation
    1510s, "act of adjusting or bringing into conformity," from Latin conformationem (nominative conformatio) "a symmetrical forming," noun of action from past participle stem of conformare "to fashion, to form, to shape; educate; modify," from assimilated form of com "together" (see
    contour
    "the outline of a figure," 1660s, a term in painting and sculpture, from French contour "circumference, outline," from Italian and Medieval Latin contornare "to go around," from assimilated form of Latin com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + tornare "to turn (on a
    phase
    1705, "phase of the moon, particular recurrent appearance presented by the moon (or Mercury or Venus) at a particular time," back-formed as a singular from Modern Latin phases, plural of phasis, from Greek phasis "appearance" (of a star), "phase" (of the moon), from stem of phain

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