Lozenge (shape)

◊
Lozenge
In Unicode	U+25CA ◊ LOZENGE (◊, ◊)
Related
See also	U+2311 ⌑ SQUARE LOZENGE U+29EB ⧫ BLACK LOZENGE U+25C8 ◈ WHITE DIAMOND CONTAINING BLACK SMALL DIAMOND

A lozenge (

.

Symbolism

The lozenge motif dates from the

The lozenge symbolism is one of the main symbols for women in

Common Berber jewelry from the

Kabylie

in Algeria also uses this pattern as a female fertility sign.

In 1658, the English philosopher

Lozenges appear as

suit

of diamonds is a lozenge.

Applications

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Calculator

On equipment, especially calculators, the lozenge is used to mark the subtotal key. It is standardized in ISO 7000

Computing

The APL programming language uses the lozenge, called diamond, as statement separator.

Camouflage

During the First World War, the Germans developed lozenge camouflage (German: Lozenge-Tarnung).^[9] This camouflage was made up of colored polygons of four or five colors. The repeating patterns often used irregular four-, five- and six-sided polygons, but some contained regular rhombi or hexagons. Because painting such a pattern was very time-consuming, and the paint added considerably to the weight of the aircraft, the pattern was printed on fabric. This pre-printed fabric was used from 1916 until the end of the war, in various forms and colours.

Flags and emblems

Several flags feature lozenges, including the Flag of Brazil, which contains a yellow lozenge at the center. One official flag of Bavaria is entirely made of blue and white lozenges.

Several emblems feature lozenges, including the Emblem of Uttarakhand, one of the twenty-eight states of India.

Heraldry

The lozenge in heraldry is a diamond-shaped charge, usually somewhat narrower than it is tall. A mascle is a voided lozenge—that is, a lozenge with a lozenge-shaped hole in the middle—and the rarer rustre is a lozenge containing a circular hole. A field covered in a pattern of lozenges is described as lozengy; a similar field of mascles is masculy.

Mathematics

In

.

Medicine

Cough tablets have taken the name lozenge, based on their original shape. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the first use of this sense was in 1530.

In Finland, the lozenge is associated with

, through Apteekin Salmiakki. Thus, the lozenge is commonly called salmiakkikuvio "salmiak shape". The pattern is often used even if the candy is not actually lozenge-shaped.

Military insignia

Finland

In Finnish military ranks, the lozenge is found in the insignia of conscript officer students (one lozenge) and conscript officer candidates (two lozenges).

United States

ruptured duck

" Honorable Discharge Emblem lozenge

To implement 10 U.S.C 773, the Secretary of the Navy has prescribed the following distinctive mark for wear by members of military societies which are composed entirely of honorably discharged officers and enlisted personnel, or by the instructors and members of duly organized cadet corps.

"The distinctive mark will be a diamond, 3+1⁄2 inches long by 2 inches wide, of any cloth material. A white distinctive mark will be worn on blue, green, or khaki clothing; and a blue distinctive mark will be worn on white clothing."^{[citation needed]}

"The distinctive mark will be worn on all outer clothing on the right sleeve, at the point of the shoulder, the upper tip of the diamond to be 1⁄4 inch below the shoulder seam."^{[citation needed]}

The lozenge is used in the

as rank insignia of cadet officers corresponding to the military pay grades of O-4 to O-6 (Cadet Major, Cadet Lieutenant Colonel, and Cadet Colonel).

Modal logic

In modal logic, the lozenge expresses that there is "possibility". For example, the expression ${\displaystyle \lozenge P}$ expresses that it is possible that ${\displaystyle P}$ is true.

Traffic signs

Bicycle lane

The lozenge (technically a mascle) can be used on public roadways in the United States and Canada to mark a specific lane for a particular use. The lane will usually be painted with a lozenge at a regular interval, and signage will be installed to indicate the restrictions on using the lane. This marking is most often used to denote high-occupancy vehicle lanes or bus lanes, with accompanying signage reading "◊ HOV LANE" or "◊ BUS LANE" and giving the requirements for a vehicle to be accepted. Prior to 17 January 2006, lozenges could also be used to mark bicycle-only lanes, often in conjunction with a bicycle icon.^[10]

In Japan and South Korea, a lozenge marked in white paint on the road indicates an upcoming uncontrolled pedestrian crossing. Similarly, in New Zealand a lozenge marked in white paint on the road may be placed to indicate an upcoming pedestrian crossing. ^[11]

In the United Kingdom, lozenges are used on tramway signs. For instance, speed limits are shown as a black lozenge on a white background, containing the speed limit in kilometres per hour.^[12]

In many parts of Europe, traffic from the right has right of way at all junctions, unless otherwise stipulated. A yellow lozenge is used (typically on major routes) to indicate that the rule does not apply to the current route.

A hollow lozenge is also used in the signage of waterways^[where?] to identify a hazard. A cross is placed in the lozenge, dividing it in four, to mark a restricted area.^[13]

Square lozenge (Pillow symbol)

A similar shape, ⌑, with concavely curved edges instead of straight lines and oriented such that its edges lie up, down, left and right, is defined in the Miscellaneous Technical Unicode block as a square lozenge. It is used in travel agencies, where it appears on the specialist keyboards used with booking terminals, where it has the familiar name, the pillow symbol.^[14] In the 1960s, it was used in banking and for other purposes.^[8]

Encodings

In Unicode, the lozenge is encoded in multiple variants:

• U+22C4 ⋄ DIAMOND OPERATOR (⋄, ⋄, ⋄)
• U+25CA ◊ LOZENGE (◊, ◊)^[15]
• U+2662 ♢
  WHITE DIAMOND SUIT^[a]
• U+2666 ♦
  BLACK DIAMOND SUIT (♦, ♦)^[b]
• U+27E0 ⟠
  LOZENGE DIVIDED BY HORIZONTAL RULE
• U+27E1 ⟡ WHITE CONCAVE-SIDED DIAMOND
• U+29EB ⧫ BLACK LOZENGE (⧫, ⧫)
• U+2B27 ⬧ BLACK MEDIUM LOZENGE
• U+2B28 ⬨ WHITE MEDIUM LOZENGE
• U+2B2A ⬪ BLACK SMALL LOZENGE
• U+2B2B ⬫ WHITE SMALL LOZENGE
• U+25C6 ◆ BLACK DIAMOND
• U+25C7 ◇ WHITE DIAMOND
• U+2756 ❖ BLACK DIAMOND MINUS WHITE X
• U+20DF  ⃟ COMBINING ENCLOSING DIAMOND

The lozenge is present in

command for the lozenge is \lozenge (${\displaystyle \lozenge }$).

Other related unicode characters include:

• U+2311 ⌑ SQUARE LOZENGE
• U+2726 ✦ BLACK FOUR POINTED STAR
• U+2727 ✧ WHITE FOUR POINTED STAR

In IBM 026 punched card code the pillow-shaped square "lozenge" ⌑ is (12-8-4).^[17][8]

Imagery

• 
  Lozenge
• 
  Phrygian art, 7th Century BC
• 
  Cucuteni-Trypillian figurine with sown field pattern
• 
  British Bronze Age
• 
  Ushak carpet, Ottoman Empire
• 
  Khatha, sacred Yantra amulet from Thailand
• 
  Hindu Star of Lakshmi
• 
  Muslim Rub el Hizb
• 
  amulets
• 
  Talisman design from an 18th-century French grimoire
• 
  Arabic manuscript China, 16th Century
• 
  Charlemagne coins, denier or denaro c. 771–793
• 
  Belitung shipwreck, Tang dynasty c. 825
• 
  Traditional sown field pattern of Western Ukraine
• 
  Armenian tapestry
• 
  Rongorongo proto-writing, possible lunar calendar calculating device
• 
  Epigonation in Eastern Christianity
• 
  Greek Classical elements
• 
  In Ecclesiastical heraldry lozenge shape is reserved for women
• 
  Women Airforce Service Pilots Badge
• 
  Philippine Air Force roundel
• 
  Mitsubishi logo
• 
  Renault logo
• 
  SV Werder Bremen crest
• 
  National flag of Belarus with sown field pattern
• 
  National flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• 
  Lozenge-shaped coat of arms is reserved for women
• 
  Ace of diamonds
• 
  Diamond vault in German architecture
• 
  Rune-shaped designs (five-lozenges cross and heart) on the gable of Ledringhem's church
• 
  Sown fields in an

  open field system

  of farming

See also

• Parallelepiped, 3-D Lozenge
• Petrosomatoglyph, lozenges as symbols in prehistory

Notes

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of lozenge at Wiktionary