Oblong
/ˈɒb.lɒŋ/noun
Longer in one direction than in the other; not square or round.
Did you know?Oblong comes from Latin oblongus, and the prefix ob- can mean “in front of” or “across,” so the word’s bones literally describe something stretched out off-center.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dlonghos
“long”
Latin
Latin
longus
“long”
Latin
Latin
oblongus
“longish, longer than broad; ob- + longus”
Middle English
English
oblong
“having one dimension longer than the other”
Modern English
English
oblong
“longer in one direction than the other; not square or round”