vertex

Meaning

Noun

• The highest point, top or apex of something.
• An angular point of a polygon, polyhedron or higher order polytope.
• A point on the curve with a local minimum or maximum of curvature.
• One of the elements of a graph joined or not by edges to other vertices.
• A point in 3D space, usually given in terms of its Cartesian coordinates.
• The point where the surface of a lens crosses the optical axis.
• An interaction point.
• The point where the prime vertical meets the ecliptic in the western hemisphere of a natal chart.
• A sharp downward point opposite a crotch, as in the letters "V" and "W" but not "Y".

Origin

• Late Middle English, borrowed from Latin vertex ("whirl, eddy; top, crown, peak, summit").