Idioms for square

Origin of square

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English < Old French esquar(r)e < Vulgar Latin *exquadra, derivative of *exquadrāre (Latin ex- ex-1 + quadrāre to square; see quadrate); (v.) Middle English squaren < Old French esquarrer < Vulgar Latin *exquadrāre; (adj.) Middle English < Old French esquarré, past participle of esquarrer; (adv.) derivative of the adj.

SYNONYMS FOR square

OTHER WORDS FROM square

British Dictionary definitions for square the circle

Derived forms of square

squareness, noun squarer, noun squarish, adjective

Word Origin for square

C13: from Old French esquare, from Vulgar Latin exquadra (unattested), from Latin ex 1 + quadrāre to make square; see quadrant

Scientific definitions for square the circle

square
[ skwâr ]

Noun

A rectangle having four equal sides.
The product that results when a number or quantity is multiplied by itself. The square of 8, for example, is 64.

Adjective

Of, being, or using units that express the measure of area.

Verb

To multiply a number, quantity, or expression by itself.

Cultural definitions for square the circle

square

A number multiplied by itself, or raised to the second power. The square of three is nine; the square of nine is eighty-one.

Idioms and Phrases with square the circle (1 of 2)

square the circle

Try to do the impossible, as in Getting that bill through the legislature is the same as trying to square the circle. This idiom alludes to the impossibility of turning a circle into a square. John Donne may have been the first to use it (Sermons, 1624): “Go not thou about to square either circle (God or thyself).”

Idioms and Phrases with square the circle (2 of 2)

square