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oblique

Flag: gbEnglishOxford New American Dictionary
oblique /əˈblēk, , əˈblik , ōˈblēk, oʊˈblik /
▸ adjective
1 neither parallel nor at a right angle to a specified or implied line; slanting:
we sat on the settee oblique to the fireplace.
▪ not explicit or direct in addressing a point:
he issued an oblique attack on the president.
▪ Geometry (of a line, plane figure, or surface) inclined at other than a right angle.
▪ Geometry (of an angle) acute or obtuse.
▪ Geometry (of a cone, cylinder, etc.) with an axis not perpendicular to the plane of its base.
▪ Anatomy (especially of a muscle) neither parallel nor perpendicular to the long axis of a body or limb:
an oblique abdominal muscle.
2 Grammar denoting any case other than the nominative or vocative.
3 not explicit or done in a direct way:
he issued an oblique attack on the president.
▸ noun
1 a muscle neither parallel nor perpendicular to the long axis of a body or limb.
2 British another term for slash1 (SENSE 2 OF THE noun).
– DERIVATIVES
obliqueness /əˈblēknis, , əˈbliknɪs, ōˈblēknis, oʊˈbliknɪs/ noun,obliquity /əˈblikwədē, , əˈblɪkwədi, ōˈblikwədē, oʊˈblɪkwədi/ noun
– ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin obliquus.