Angle

In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the sides of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the vertex of the angle. Angles formed by two rays are also known as plane angles as they lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles are also formed by the intersection of two planes; these are called dihedral angles. Two intersecting curves may also define an angle, which is the angle of the rays lying tangent to the respective curves at their point of intersection. The magnitude of an angle is called an angular measure or simply "angle". Angle of rotation is a measure conventionally defined as the ratio of a circular arc length to its radius, and may be a negative number. In the case of a geometric angle, the arc is centered at the vertex and delimited by the sides. In the case of a rotation, the arc is centered at the center of the rotation and delimited by any other point and its image by the rotation. The word angle comes from the Latin word angulus, meaning "corner." Cognate words include the Greek ἀγκύλος (ankylοs) meaning "crooked, curved" and the English word "ankle." Both are connected with the Proto-Indo-European root *ank-, meaning "to bend" or "bow." Euclid defines a plane angle as the inclination to each other, in a plane, of two lines that meet each other and do not lie straight with respect to each other. According to the Neoplatonic metaphysician Proclus, an angle must be either a quality, a quantity, or a relationship. The first concept, angle as quality, was used by Eudemus of Rhodes, who regarded an angle as a deviation from a straight line; the second, angle as quality, by Carpus of Antioch, who regarded it as the interval or space between the intersecting lines; Euclid adopted the third: angle as a relationship. In mathematical expressions, it is common to use Greek letters (α, β, γ, θ, φ, . . . ) as variables denoting the size of some angle (to avoid confusion with its other meaning, the symbol π is typically not used for this purpose). Lower case Roman letters (a, b, c, .