[per.pen.dic.u.lar] adj [ME perpendiculer, fr. MF, fr. L perpendicularis, fr. perpendiculum plumb line, fr. per- + pendere to hang--more at pendant] (14c) 1 a: standing at right angles to the plane of the horizon: exactly upright b: being at right angles to a given line or plane
2: extremely steep: precipitous 3 often cap: of or relating to a medieval English Gothic style of architecture in which vertical lines predominate
4: relating to, uniting, or consisting of individuals of dissimilar type or on different levels syn see vertical -- per.pen.dic.u.lar.i.ty n -- per.pen.dic.u.lar.ly adv
[2]perpendicular n (1571): a line at right angles to a line or plane (as of the horizon)