hexagon

A polygon with six sides and six angles. The name comes from the Greek hex for "six" and gonia for "angle". The sum of the interior angles of a hexagon is 720°. When the sides and angles are all equal it is called a regular hexagon.

Of the three figures which can completely occupy two-dimensional space (the equilateral triangle, square, and hexagon) the hexagon contains the greatest area within a given perimeter, the proportion between the three different figures being approximately 4, 5.2, 6. It is because of this fact that bees, by making their cells of a hexagonal form, enclose the greatest space with the least expenditure of wax.

Related category

• POLYGONS

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