Oblique
Origin
Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French oblique (adjective) diverging from the perpendicular (14th cent.; 13th cent. in Old French as oblike), indirect (14th cent.), and its etymon classical Latin oblīquus slanting, indirectly expressed
Definitions
- 1a : neither perpendicular nor parallel : inclined
- b : having the axis not perpendicular to the base <an oblique cone>
- c : having no right angle <an oblique triangle
- 2a : not straightforward : indirect; also : obscure
- b : devious, underhanded
- 3: situated at an angle and having one end not inserted on bone <oblique muscles>
- 4: taken from an airplane with the camera directed horizontally or diagonally downward <an oblique photograph>
Description
- Typography
Oblique type (or slanted, sloped) is a form of type that slants slightly to the right, used in the same manner as italic type. Unlike italic type, however, it does not use different glyph shapes; it uses the same glyphs as roman type, except distorted. Oblique fonts are usually associated with sans-serif typefaces, especially with geometric faces, as opposed to humanist ones whose design tends to draw more on history. Oblique and italic type are often confused.[1]
- Photography
Dutch tilt, Dutch angle, Dutch shot, oblique angle, German angle, canted angle, Batman angle, or Jaunty angle (in non-cinematic static photography) are terms used for one of many cinematic techniques often used to portray the psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed. A Dutch angle is achieved by tilting the camera off to the side so that the shot is composed with the horizon at an angle to the bottom of the frame. Many Dutch angles are static shots at an obscure angle, but in a moving Dutch angle shot the camera can pivot, pan or track along the director/cinematographer's established diagonal axis for the shot.[2]
- Aeronautics
An oblique wing (also called a slew wing) is a variable geometry wing concept. On an aircraft so equipped, the wing is designed to rotate on center pivot, so that one tip is swept forward while the opposite tip is swept aft. By changing its sweep angle in this way, drag can be reduced at high speed (with the wing swept) without sacrificing low speed performance (with the wing perpendicular).[3]
- Military Strategy
The Oblique Order (or declined or refused flank) is a military tactic where an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy flank. The force commander concentrates the majority of his strength on one flank and uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. This allows a commander with weaker or equal forces to achieve a local superiority in numbers. The commander can then try to defeat the enemy in detail. It was the most famously used by the armies of Frederick II of Prussia. Oblique order required disciplined troops able to execute complex maneuvers in varied circumstances.[4]
