scalene (adj.)

"having unequal sides," in mathematics, 1680s, from Late Latin scalenus, from Greek skalenōs "uneven, unequal, odd (numbered)," as a noun, "triangle with unequal sides" (trigōnon skalēnon), from skallein "to chop, hoe, dig, stir up" (compare its derivative, skalops "a mole"), from PIE root *skel- (1) "to cut."

updated on January 14, 2022