Lozenge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the cough tablets, see throat lozenge.
A lozenge is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus — a rhombus with acute angles of 45°.[1] The lozenge shape is often used in parquetry and as decoration on ceramics, silverware, and textiles.
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[edit] Applications
[edit] Camouflage
During the First World War, the Germans were looking for a way to effectively camouflage their aircraft. This resulted in the development of the so-called lozenge pattern, made up of irregular painted polygons (not necessarily actual rhombi). Because painting such a pattern was very time consuming, and the paint added considerably to the weight of the aircraft, it was decided to print the pattern on fabric. This pre-printed fabric was used from 1916 onwards, in various forms and colours.
[edit] Heraldry
The lozenge in heraldry is a diamond-shaped charge, usually somewhat narrower than it is tall. A mascle is a voided lozenge-- that is, a lozenge with a lozenge-shaped hole in the middle-- and the rarer rustre is a lozenge containing a circular hole. A field covered in a pattern of lozenges is described as lozengy; a similar field of mascles is masculy.
[edit] Cough tablets
Cough tablets have taken the name lozenge, based on their original shape. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the first use of this sense was in 1530.
[edit] The glyph
The lozenge glyph is found in DOS code page 437 (at character code 4)[2] and Mac-Roman. It is also found at Unicode 0x25CA. In HTML it can be typed with ◊ (or ◊ or ◊), which will produce ◊ (and ◊ and ◊).
[edit] See Also
- Petrosomatoglyph Lozenges as symbols in prehistory.
[edit] References
- ^ Definition of lozenge at Mathworld web site
- ^ Valtanen, Esko (1990). DOS-OPAS. Teknolit, 649. ISBN 952-90122-0-9.