Oblique
Oblique , adjective
[French, from Latin obliquus; ob (see Ob-) + liquis oblique; compare licinus bent upward, Greek le`chrios slanting.]
1.
Not erect or perpendicular; neither parallel to, nor at right angles from, the base; slanting; inclined.
It has a direction oblique to that of the former motion.
2.
Not straightforward; indirect; obscure;
disingenuous; underhand; perverse; sinister.
The love we bear our friends...
Hath in it certain oblique ends.
This mode of oblique research, when a more direct one is denied, we find to be the only one in our power.
Then would be closed the restless, oblique eye.
That looks for evil, like a treacherous spy.
3.
Not direct in descent; not following the line of father and son; collateral.
His natural affection in a direct line was strong, in an oblique but weak.
Collocations (18)
Oblique arch (Architecture) , an arch whose jambs are not at right angles with the face, and whose intrados is in consequence askew.
Oblique bridge , a skew bridge. See under Bridge, n.
Oblique circle (Projection) , a circle whose plane is oblique to the axis of the primitive plane.
Oblique fire (Military) , a fire the direction of which is not perpendicular to the line fired at.
Oblique flank (Fortification) , that part of the curtain whence the fire of the opposite bastion may be discovered. — Wilhelm
Oblique leaf (Botany) , (a) A leaf twisted or inclined from the normal position. (b) A leaf having one half different from the other.
Oblique line (Geometry) , a line that, meeting or tending to meet another, makes oblique angles with it.
Oblique motion (Music) , a kind of motion or progression in which one part ascends or descends, while the other prolongs or repeats the same tone, as in the accompanying example.
Oblique muscle (Anatomy) , a muscle acting in a direction oblique to the mesial plane of the body, or to the associated muscles; -- applied especially to two muscles of the eyeball.
Oblique narration , See Oblique speech.
Oblique planes (Dialing) , planes which decline from the zenith, or incline toward the horizon.
Oblique sailing (Nautical) , the movement of a ship when she sails upon some rhumb between the four cardinal points, making an oblique angle with the meridian.
Oblique speech (Rhetoric) , speech which is quoted indirectly, or in a different person from that employed by the original speaker.
Oblique sphere (Astronomy & Geography) , the celestial or terrestrial sphere when its axis is oblique to the horizon of the place; or as it appears to an observer at any point on the earth except the poles and the equator.
Oblique step (Military) , a step in marching, by which the soldier, while advancing, gradually takes ground to the right or left at an angle of about 25°. It is not now practiced. — Wilhelm
Oblique system of coordinates (Anal. Geometry) , a system in which the coordinate axes are oblique to each other.
Oblique , noun
(Geometry) An oblique line.
Oblique , intransitive verb
1.
To deviate from a perpendicular line; to move in an oblique direction.
Projecting his person towards it in a line which obliqued from the bottom of his spine.
2.
(Military) To march in a direction oblique to the line of the column or platoon; -- formerly accomplished by oblique steps, now by direct steps, the men half-facing either to the right or left.