Glossary of shapes with metaphorical names

Many shapes have metaphorical names, i.e., their names are metaphors: these shapes are named after a most common object that has it. For example, "U-shape" is a shape that resembles the letter U, a bell-shaped curve has the shape of the vertical cross section of a bell, etc. These terms may variously refer to objects, their cross sections or projections.

Types of shapes

The Fish bladder is the intersection of two congruent disks, each centered on the perimeter of the other
Bicorn
Astroid
Tomahawk curve, with its handle and spike thickened

Some of these names are "classical terms", i.e., words of Latin or Ancient Greek etymology. Others are English language constructs (although the base words may have non-English etymology). In some disciplines, where shapes of subjects in question are a very important consideration, the shape naming may be quite elaborate, see, e.g., the taxonomy of shapes of plant leaves in botany.

Ampersand curve
Arbelos, from Greek árbylos, meaning "shoemaker's knife"

Astroid
Aquiline, shaped like an eagle's beak (as in a Roman nose)
Bathtub curve
Basket-handle arch
Bell-shaped curve
Biconic shape, a shape in a way opposite to the hourglass: it is based on two oppositely oriented cones or truncated cones with their bases joined; the cones are not necessarily the same Bowtie shape, in two dimensions Atmospheric reentry apparatus Centerbody of an inlet cone in ramjets
Bow shape Bow curve
Bullet Nose an open-ended hourglass
Butterfly Butterfly curve (algebraic) Butterfly curve (transcendental) Butterfly lemma Butterfly graph
Catenary, derived from the Latin word catēna, which means "chain".
Cissoid (from Ancient Greek κισσοειδής (kissoeidēs) 'ivy-shaped')
Cocked hat curve, also known as Bicorn
Cone (from the Greek word for « pine cone »)
Doughnut shape
Dragon curve
Egg-shaped, see "Oval", below Superegg Moss's Egg
Elephant Elephant curve Von Neumann's elephant
Fish curve
Geoid (From Greek Ge (γη) for "Earth"), the term specifically introduced to denote the approximation of the shape of the Earth, which is approximately spherical, but not exactly so
Heart shape, long been used for its varied symbolism Cardioid
Hedgehog Hedgehog (geometry) Hedgehog space
Horseshoe-shaped or hippocrepiform, resembling a horseshoe, cf. horseshoe (disambiguation). In botany, also called lecotropal (see below)
Hourglass shape or hourglass figure, the one that resembles an hourglass; nearly symmetric shape wide at its ends and narrow in the middle; some flat shapes may be alternatively compared to the figure eight or hourglass Dog bone shape, an hourglass with rounded ends Dogbone space Hourglass corset Ntama Engraved Hourglass Nebula
Inverted bell
Kite
Lecotropal, in botany, shaped like a horseshoe (see horseshoe-shaped, above). From Greek λέκος dish + -τροπος turning
Lens or Vesica shape (the latter taking its name from the shape of the lentil seed); see also mandorla, almond-shaped Lens space
Lune, from the Latin word for the Moon
Maltese Cross curve
Mandorla, almond-shaped (Italian for "almond"), often used as a frame in mediaeval Christian iconography.
Mushroom shape, which became infamous as a result of the mushroom cloud
Nephroid (from Ancient Greek ὁ νεφρός (ho nephros) 'kidney-shaped')
Oval (from the Latin "ovum" for egg), a descriptive term applied to several kinds of "rounded" shapes, including the egg shape
Pear shaped, in reference to the shape of a pear, i.e., a generally rounded shape, tapered towards the top and more spherical/circular at the bottom
Rod, a 3-dimensional, solid (filled) cylinder Rod shaped bacteria
Rose, like the petals of a flower Rose curve Rose (topology)
Salinon, meaning 'salt-cellar' in Greek
Scarabaeus curve resembling a scarab
Serpentine, shaped like a snake Serpentine curve
Snowflake, fractal branching structure with rotational symmetry (often of order 6) Koch snowflake Flowsnake Mosely snowflake
Stadium, two half-circles joined by straight sides
Stirrup curve
Star, a figure with multiple sharp points emanating from a common center Star domain Astroid
Sunburst Farey sunburst
Tomahawk
Tree, a figure with branches that do not rejoin that may also have branches that do not rejoin and so on. Tree (graph theory)
Ungula, shaped like a horse's hoof

Numbers and letters

A-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter A A-frame, the shape of a common structure that resembles the capital letter A A-frame house, a common style of house construction A-line skirt or dress
B-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter B
C-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter C
D-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter D D-ring
Deltoid, the shape that resembles the Greek capital letter Δ Deltahedron Y-Δ transform Deltoid muscle River delta Delta wing
E-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter E Magnetic cores of transformers may be E-shaped A number of notable buildings have an E-shaped floorplan
F-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter F
Figure 0, the shape that resembles the numeral 0, more commonly referred to as an O-shape, see below
Figure 1, the shape that resembles the numeral 1
Figure 2, the shape that resembles the numeral 2
Figure 3, the shape that resembles the numeral 3
Figure 4, the shape that resembles the numeral 4
Figure 5, the shape that resembles the numeral 5
Figure 6, the shape that resembles the numeral 6
Figure 7, the shape that resembles the numeral 7
Figure 8, the shape that resembles the numeral 8 Figure eight knot Lemniscate
Figure 9, the shape that resembles the numeral 9
G-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter G
H-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter H H-beam, a beam with H-shaped section Goals in several sports (gridiron football (old style), Gaelic football, rugby, hurling) are described as "H-shaped" H topology in electronic filter design Also see Balbis
I-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter Ɪ in a serif font, i.e., with horizontal strokes Ɪ-beam, a beam with an Ɪ-shaped section The court in the Mesoamerican ballgame is I-shaped
J-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter J J curve
K-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter K K-shaped recession K turn
Kappa curve, resembling the Greek letter ϰ (kappa).
L-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter L L-beam, a beam with an L-shaped section The L-Shaped Room L game L-shaped recession
Lemniscate, the shape that resembles the infinity symbol
M-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter M (interchangeable with the W-shape)
N-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter N (interchangeable with the Z-shape)
O-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter O O-ring
P-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter P P-trap, a P-shaped pipe under a sink or basin
Pi-shape, the shape that resembles the Greek capital letter Π Π topology in electronic filter design
Q-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter Q
R-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter R
S-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter S The sigmoid colon, an S-shaped bend in the human intestine Sigmoid function S-twist, contrasted with Z-twist for yarn

T-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter T T junction T topology in electronic filter design T-shaped (chemistry) T-shaped skills, a format for résumés T-shirt T-pose, used in computer animation models
U-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter U U-shaped valley U-turn U-shaped recession
Hyoid, the shape that resembles the Greek letter υ Hyoid bone
V-shape, the shape that resembles the letter V, also known as the Chevron (which includes the inverted-V shape) V-shaped valley V-shaped recession V-shaped body – male human body shape with broad shoulders V-shaped passage grave V sign V-tail
W-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter W (interchangeable with the M-shape) W-shaped recession
X-shape, the shape that resembles the letter X Saltire X topology in electronic filter design
Chiasm, crossings that resemble the Greek letter χ Chiasmus Chiastic structure Optic chiasm
Y-shape, the shape that resembles the letter Y Y-front briefs Pall Y-Δ transform
Z-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter Z (interchangeable with the N-shape) Z-twist, contrasted with S-twist for yarn

Glossary of shapes with metaphorical names

Types of shapes

Numbers and letters

See also