Ob*lique" , v. i. [imp. & p. p. Obliqued (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Obliquing.]
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.
Sir. W. Scott.
2. (Mil.) 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.
Ob*lique" , n.
(Geom.) An oblique
line.
Ob*lique" (?), a. [F., fr. L. obliquus; ob (see Ob-) + liquis oblique;
cf. licinus bent upward, Gr &?; slanting.]
[Written also
oblike.]
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.
Cheyne.
2. Not straightforward; indirect; obscure; hence, disingenuous; underhand; perverse; sinister.
The love we bear our friends . . .
Hath in it certain oblique
ends.
Drayton. This mode of
oblique research,
when a more
direct one is denied, we find to be the only one
in our power.
De
Quincey. Then would be closed the restless, oblique eye.
That looks for evil, like a treacherous spy.
Wordworth.
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.
Baker. Oblique
angle, Oblique ascension, etc. See under Angle,Ascension, etc. -- Oblique arch (Arch.), 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 case (Gram.), any case except the nominative. See Case, n.
-- Oblique circle
(Projection), a
circle whose plane is oblique to the axis of the primitive plane. -- Oblique fire (Mil.), a fire the direction of which is not
perpendicular to the line fired at. -- Oblique flank (Fort.), that part of
the curtain whence the fire of the opposite bastion may be discovered.
Wilhelm. -- Oblique leaf. (Bot.) (a) A leaf twisted or inclined from the normal position.
(b) A leaf having one half different from the other. -- Oblique line
(Geom.), a line that, meeting or tending to meet another, makes oblique angles with it. -- Oblique motion (Mus.), 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
(Anat.), 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 (Naut.), 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
(Rhet.), speech which is quoted indirectly, or in a different person from that employed by the original speaker. --
Oblique sphere
(Astron. & Geog.), 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 (Mil.), 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 coördinates (Anal. Geom.), a system in which the coördinate axes are oblique to each other.
Hear it pronounced