Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A mathematical object, or a physical representation of it, which is a two-dimensional sheet with only one surface. It is constructed or visualized as a rectangle, one end of which is held fixed while the opposite end is twisted through a 180 degree angle and joined to the fixed end. It is a two-dimensional object that can only exist in a three-dimensional space.
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word möbius strip.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
A mathematician confided
That a Möbius band is one-sided,
And you'll get quite a laugh,
If you cut one in half,
For it stays in one piece when divided
June 18, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
This gave me a girlychuckle
June 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word möbius strip
As opposed to manlaughter, I presume? At last, someone appreciates my word coinage! ;-)
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Exactly. That is the reference I had in mind. Credit goes to reesetee
June 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word möbius strip
Oh no, I must have sounded like I was trolling for compliments! Just kidding there, slumry--I was trying to find a way to link to manlaughter too (coined by the useful uselessness). :-)
June 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
Woah, um, I coined it? I don't think I coined it. Truth be told, I have a terrible memory. I'm pretty sure it was somebody else though. Yep, I'm useless alright.
June 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word möbius strip
Wait! You may be right--it apparently was whichbe, or at least whichbe added the word first. It appears on this list.
Wordie History--a whole new discipline....
June 19, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word möbius strip
I've been wanting first-added dates on words for some time now. We're almost like archeologists, digging down through the months (!) to the original layers of the site.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
No, no I did'nt think anyone was trolling for compliments. I just learned girlychuckle from reesetee, and it amused me. I was happy to find a use for it when Uselessness said "manlaughter" Okay, and as far as we know Whichbe coined manlaughter
I love it! We are doing wordieology
June 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
You see, I have this obnoxious habit of coining words, or first mentioning existing words, by leaving comments without actually listing said words. I do it so as not to make my lists unnecessarily huge and random. But I guess it makes wordieology a little tricky, eh? Just blame me, living up to my name. ;-)
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Jennaren, that is a good idea. So you are adding them in the comments citations section of the word? Cool! Give me a few months and maybe I can become an oldtimer, too.
June 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
It's funny, the site's not THAT old. :-) It was launched, what, last fall? By internet standards, maybe that is old. Doesn't feel that old to me...
June 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word möbius strip
Which means that Wordie should be a year old pretty soon. Probably sprouting a tooth or two, no?
June 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word möbius strip
U, that explains why your lists aren't huge and random, whereas mine are both. :-) But still, you're messing with our wordieological accuracy!
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Age is relative. Since I've been here less than I week, I still feel like a real greenhorn.
June 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
Well dang, reesetee, I've already got 3259 words! If reaching critical mass is a possibility, I ought to be nearly there. Imagine the mess I'd have if I weren't so conservative! ;-)
June 19, 2007
oroboros commented on the word möbius strip
Try this discipline, if you can stand it: for every new word added, find one to delete. Kind of changes your priorities, eh?
June 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word möbius strip
You are the soul of Wordie neatness, u. On the other hand, my Wordie playroom has words flung all over the place, draped across furniture, hanging from doorknobs, sticking out from under the bed. I'll have to clean some day. :-)
Oroboros, funny you should say that--I've come to that point with the books in my house. One comes in, one has to go out. Them's the rules. Otherwise I'll be found smothered to death by my own library.
June 19, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word möbius strip
I'm not actually adding dates, although that would be a good idea. I just wish that the site would magically start doing this. Helpful, I know.
June 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
I wonder if it's possible for John to implement that, as well as retroactively date existing things -- I expect the database contains timestamps for every entry.
June 19, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word möbius strip
That sounds like that could be time-consuming.
June 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
Well, I kind of meant that John could write a script to do it. ;-)
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
FWIW, I am not particularly interested in the original citation of every single word. Many common--even not-so-common--words in will be cited independently by many Wordies. I am interested in the wordieology of neologisms, etc.
June 19, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word möbius strip
Well, I think it would be interesting to see the evolution of words listed on the site. I'd imagine that the impressive SAT lists went up first, followed by the categorical lists. The lists of created words are newer.
Yes u, I shot off my mouth w/o thinking. Again. This is why I edit so many comments. The first thing out of my mouth is always the dumbest.
June 19, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
Yes, I look forward to watching how the site evolves from this point. I would imagine that this is like a family--each new "child" inevitably comes into a slightly different family and uses the site in a somewhat different way.
June 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word möbius strip
It's true, word themes tend to come in waves. Though I wonder the recent trend of portmanteaus and neologisms isn't just because we're already "full" of "real words." Seems pretty complete at this point. Not 100% complete, but maybe 97%, at least in terms of dictionary words. There's infinite potential for multi-word phrases, foreign phrases, and made-up stuff, of course. But I bet we're drawing near the end of legitimate words being added for the first time.
I think the lasting power of Wordie will be not in the words listed, but in the comments added to each one. That's where the real value of this site has been for me. The discussions here are great! There's also some value in how words will continue to be categorized in different lists, but even that may grow stale after a while. Heck, I'm getting a little bored with it myself, but don't tell anyone I said that. ;-)
June 20, 2007
seanahan commented on the word möbius strip
Well uselessness, there are a lot of cool new features which could be added to the list functionality to make it cooler, but obviously John is busy, so it's something to look forward to in the future.
June 20, 2007
slumry commented on the word möbius strip
New as I am here, even I become bored when I list words too much at one sitting. But I go away, and think of more words,things to say about words, and things others have said about words, and I get excited again. I think that the possibilities of this site are as vast as the language. And of course, there will always be newcomers to whom it is all fresh.
I agree with you that the bare lists aren't exciting in themselves--after all, we have had had dictionaries for a long time (I must admit I can get excited reading the dictionary, so perhaps I am not the best judge). It is the conversation, the interaction, the new insights that are worthwhile.
I am sure that there are also some quiet users who value this for purely utilitarian purposes, too. They may want to expand their vocabulary, learn a language, remember a particular set of words, prepare for a test, etc.
I would be interested to know how close we are to listing all of the "real" words. My guess is that we are a long way off. I know that I have listed many words for the first time this week. Granted, most of them are probably forms of words already listed, and a few of them are neologisms.
I have also listed a good many idioms, which are not random combinations of words but phrases whose sum is greater than their parts. That is, you cannot parse them out merely by looking at the definitions of each word.
June 20, 2007
whichbe commented on the word möbius strip
i primarily use wordie to generate keeper/re-use wordlists for my creative, writing projects of various sorts... it's a medium that's more fun (interaction--people and idea-seeds) than personal text files. re: ne(word)er: much of the pun-spinner world is corny and tiresome but as i am aw-fully struck with concepts such as meme or suggestion/referencing I find that honing my skills with phoneme-awareness and graphic matching, text or sound pattern-recognition.
June 20, 2007