vertex

(vûr'tĕks')
n., pl., -ti·ces (-tĭ-sēz'), also -tex·es.

1. The highest point; the apex or summit: the vertex of a mountain.
2. Anatomy.
   1. The highest point of the skull.
   2. The top of the head.
3. Astronomy. The highest point reached in the apparent motion of a celestial body.
4. Mathematics.
   1. The point at which the sides of an angle intersect.
   2. The point on a triangle or pyramid opposite to and farthest away from its base.
   3. A point on a polyhedron common to three or more sides.

[Latin, whirlpool, crown of the head (where the hair forms a whorl), vertex, from vertere, to turn.]

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meaning 'the highest point', has the plural form vertices (pronounced ver-ti-seez) or vertexes.

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The plural of vertex. See vertex.

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noun

The highest point: apex, cap, crest, crown, height, peak, roof, summit, top. See high/low.

n

Definition: top
Antonyms: bottom, nadir

vertices (pl.)

Also known as a node. In network analysis this is the place joined by two or more routes (links).

An anatomical landmark located at the most superior point in the midsagittal plane on the skull when the bead is held in the Frankfort plane.

The term vertex, in Wilfred R. Bion's terminology, refers to the psychic place from which an emotional experience can be represented with the support of data from a sensory modality, which he called the "mental counterpart" (1965, p. 90) of the sense involved.

In common English, vertex has the more general meaning of "top." Bion introduced it into his terminology in 1965 in his book Transformations: Change from Learning to Growth. He was seeking an abstract definition of the "point of view" from which the mind, through a system of transformations, can bring emotional experiences linked to the absence of the object together into a "constant conjunction" (p. 96) and give them meaning. He thus used the geometric term vertex, "clothing" the abstract geometric concept in imaginary flesh. In so doing, he sought to avoid two pitfalls: that of using a term with strong metaphoric connotations such as point of view, which privileges the sense of sight, and that of reducing the libidinal objects and their processes of intrapsychic transformation to purely formal entities. He nevertheless recognized the primacy of the sense of sight in these processes of transformation, notably, that it leads more readily to verbal description than the other senses. While he emphasized this primacy, he nonetheless showed that a change of vertex, or the mental equivalent of a sensory modality, can be necessary to represent certain psychic experiences. He also described the reversal of a vertex; for example, the reversal of the visual vertex that leads to hallucinations.

Bion used the concept of the vertex to describe the relationship between patient and analyst and to propose a theory of interpretation. In the analytic relationship, patient and analyst share the same experience, but each has a different vertex. The patient's vertex is linked to his or her unconscious motivations and their corresponding emotional bonds, the H (hatred) bond or the L (love) bond. The analyst must strive to adopt a vertex that is linked only to the K (knowledge) bond, the emotional bond corresponding to the psychic tension that must be tolerated until meaning emerges. Interpretation for the analyst consists of formulating, when the time comes, his or her experience of the situation based on this vertex. The vertices of the patient and the analyst must be neither too close nor too far apart from one another. This produces a "binocular vision" that enables the patient to take a step back from his or her original vertex, bringing a sort of perspective into the patient's psyche.

Bibliography

Bion, Wilfred R. (1965). Transformations: Change from learning to growth. London: Heinemann.

——. (1970). Attention and interpretation. London: Tavistock.

Grinberg, Léon, Sor, Dario, and Tabak de Bianchedi, Elizabeth. (1977). Introduction to the work of Bion: Groups, knowledge, psychosis, thought, transformations, psychoanalytic practice (Alberto Hahn, Trans.). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. (Original work publushed 1973)

—DIDIER HOUZEL

(DOD, NATO) In artillery and naval gunfire support, the highest point in the trajectory of a projectile.

IN BRIEF: More than one high point. Also: More than one corner point of a geometric figure.

In her study of geometry, she learned many ways to measure vertexes.

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i. The last fix adapted on the arrival speed segment. Normally, it will be the outer marker of the runway in use. However, it may be the actual threshold or another suitable common point on the approach path for the particular runway configuration.
ii. In astronavigation, the vertex of a great circle is the point at which the great circle is nearest the geographic pole—that is, the point at which it reaches the maximum latitude. Every great circle has two vertices (one in each hemisphere). In the solution of great-circle sailing problems, only the vertex nearest the arc forming the great-circle track is considered.



Every great circle intersects two points, 180° apart. These points are 90° away from the longitude of the vertices. The angle at which the great circle intersects the equator is equal to the co-latitude of the vertices. The purpose of determining position of the vertex is to facilitate calculation of intermediate position along the great circle track between which short rhumb-line courses can be steered. Based on the fact that the great circle track intersects the meridian of the vertex at 90°, Napier’s rule can be used to solve the successive right angles to obtain intermediate positions.

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The summit or top, especially the top of the head.

• v. corneae — central part of the cornea.

For a list of words related to vertex, see:

• Optics - vertex: center of curved mirror
• Geometric Shapes and Mathematically Defined Forms - vertex: point at which two lines or planes meet to form angle
• Fixed Positions and Points - vertex: highest point; point opposite and farthest from base; termination of line; intersection of two or more lines

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See words rhyming with "vertices."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Vertex.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - top, spids, isse, zenit

Nederlands (Dutch)
top, (hoogste) hoekpunt, kruispunt (ook met de assen), top van het hoofd

Français (French)
n. - (gén, Math) sommet, (Anat) vertex

Deutsch (German)
n. - Scheitelpunkt

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ανατ., γεωμ.) κορυφή, (αστρον.) ζενίθ, (μτφ.) απόγειο, αποκορύφωμα

Italiano (Italian)
vertice

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ápice (m), vértice (m) (Geom.), zênite (m) (Astr.)

Русский (Russian)
зенит, вершина, верхушка, темя

Español (Spanish)
n. - vértice, cenit

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - topp, spets, zenit

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
顶点, 头顶, 最高点

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 頂點, 頭頂, 最高點

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 정상, 두정, 꼭지점

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 最高点, 頂上, 角頂, 天頂

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قمه, ذروة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שיא, פסגה, ראש, קודקוד‬

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