rechteckige

Rechteckige is the inflected form of the German adjective rechteckig, meaning rectangular. It describes objects, figures or spaces that have the proportions or corners of a rectangle. The root derives from das Rechteck (rectangle) plus the suffix -ig, which marks a characteristic property.

In geometry, a rechteckige Figur is a four-sided figure with four right angles. In strict terms, a rectangle is a parallelogram with four right angles; opposite sides are parallel and equal in length.

In everyday language, rechteckig is used to describe design and physical shapes: a rechteckige Form is a rectangular form; a rechteckige Verpackung is a rectangular package; a rechteckiges Fenster is a rectangular window. The adjective declines with gender, case and number: die rechteckige Form (feminine singular, definite article); ein rechteckiger Tisch (masculine singular, indefinite article); die rechteckigen Formen (plural). Neuter singular appears as ein rechteckiges Fenster.

The term is often contrasted with quadratisch (square) and rund (round). A square is a special case of a rectangle, so quadratisch overlaps with rechteckig in common usage. In non-geometric contexts, rechteckig describes outlines that are rectangle-like even if not perfect mathematical rectangles.