lateral

See also: latéral

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin laterālis (“belonging to the side”), from latus (“side”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlæt.ɹəl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈlæt.ɚ.əl/

Adjective

lateral (comparative more lateral, superlative most lateral)

1. To the side; of or pertaining to the side.

   Instead of a promotion, I opted for a lateral move to a similar position in the marketing department.

2. Non-linear or unconventional, as in, lateral thinking.
3. (anatomy) Pertaining to the left or right of the body; further from the midline.

   The medial side of the knee faces the other knee, while the outer side of the knee is lateral.

   A fish senses changes in hydrodynamic pressure with its lateral line.

4. (physics) At right angles to a line of motion or strain.
5. (phonetics, phonology) Pertaining to sounds generated by partially blocking the egress of the airstream with the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge, leaving space on one or both sides of the occlusion for air passage.

Synonyms

• side, sidely

Antonyms

• (anatomy): medial
• (geometric): longitudinal, vertical

Coordinate terms

• (human anatomy direction adjectives) anterior,‎ distal,‎ dorsal,‎ lateral,‎ medial,‎ posterior,‎ proximal,‎ ventral ^{(Category: en:Medicine) [edit]}

Derived terms

• laterally
• lateral thinking

Translations

of or pertaining to the side

• Armenian: կողմնային (hy) (koġmnayin)
• Bulgarian: страничен (bg) (straničen)
• Catalan: lateral (ca)
• Czech: postranní, boční (cs)
• Esperanto: lateralo
• Finnish: sivuttainen, sivu- (fi)
• French: latéral (fr)
• Galician: lateral (gl)
• Hungarian: oldalsó (hu), oldalirányú, oldal- (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: laterala (io)
• Italian: laterale (it)
• Persian: کناری، جانبی (kenâri, jânebi)
• Portuguese: lateral (pt)
• Russian: боково́й (ru) (bokovój), латера́льный (ru) (latɛrálʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: бочни, латералан
• Spanish: lateral (es)
• Tagalog: panagiliran

pertaining to the left or right of the body

• Catalan: lateral (ca)
• Czech: laterální (cs)
• Finnish: kylki- (fi), ulko- (fi), lateraalinen (fi)
• French: latéral (fr)
• Greek: έξω (el) (éxo)
• Hungarian: oldal- (hu), laterális (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: laterale (it)
• Portuguese: lateral (pt)
• Russian: латера́льный (ru) (latɛrálʹnyj), боково́й (ru) (bokovój)
• Spanish: lateral (es)
• Tagalog: panagiliran

linguistics: pertaining to certain sounds

• Armenian: կողմնային (hy) (koġmnayin), կողմնական (hy) (koġmnakan), կողքային (hy) (koġkʻayin)
• Catalan: lateral (ca)
• Czech: laterální (cs)
• Finnish: lateraalinen (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Galician: lateral (gl)
• Hungarian: laterális (hu)
• Navajo: ałtsʼááyol
• Russian: латера́льный (ru) (latɛrálʹnyj)

Noun

lateral (plural laterals)

1. An object, such as a passage or a protrusion, that is situated on the side of something else.
2. (linguistics) A sound produced through lateral pronunciation (such as /l/ in lateral).

   Coordinate terms: approximant, fricative, nasal, trill, plosive

3. (American football) A lateral pass.
4. (business) An employee hired for a position at the same organizational level or salary as their previous position.

Translations

(linguistics) a sound produced through lateral pronunciation (such as /l/ in lateral)

• Galician: lateral (gl) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: laterális hang, oldalsó hang

See also

• lateral consonant on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

lateral (third-person singular simple present laterals, present participle lateralling or lateraling, simple past and past participle lateralled or lateraled)

1. To move (oneself or something) in a lateral direction.
2. (American football) To execute a lateral pass.

Related terms

• monolateral
• unilateral
• bilateral
• trilateral
• tetralateral
• quadrilateral
• quinquelateral
• collateral

Further reading

• “lateral”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “lateral”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

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Catalan

Noun

lateral m or f (plural laterals)

1. wingback

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German

Etymology

In the 20th century, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin laterālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lateˈʀaːl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

lateral (not comparable)

1. lateral

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Interlingua

Adjective

lateral (not comparable)

1. lateral

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Portuguese

Adjective

1. lateral (of, pertaining to or located in the side)
2. of lesser importance

Noun

lateral f (plural laterais)

1. (sports) sideline (line defining the side boundary of a playing field)
2. (sports) throw-in (set-piece where the ball is thrown back into play)
3. (phonetics) lateral (sound in which the airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue)

Noun

1. (sports) winger (offensive player who plays on either side of the centre)

Synonyms

• ala

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin lateralis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lateˈɾal/ [la.t̪eˈɾal]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

lateral m or f (masculine and feminine plural laterales)

1. lateral, to the side
2. (linguistics) lateral

Derived terms

• anterolateral
• inferolateral
• superolateral

Related terms

• lado

Noun

lateral m or f (plural laterales)

1. (soccer) wingback
2. (linguistics) lateral

Further reading

• Template:R:DRAE 2001