reading comprehensive - legs: What is the meaning of legs in geometry?

shahar said:
(1) What is the meaning of legs in geometry?

(2) Where is it in the picture in link?

(3) What the meaning of the sentence:
"The second is subdivided into a 5x6 rectangle, and four 3–4–5 triangles, this time with the legs of length 3 adjacent to the rectangle."
especially the underlined text?

the link:
https://www.quora.com/Does-hexagon-...Darryl-Nester?ch=10&share=eaef6656&srid=ugwBT
Click to expand...

A leg of a triangle can be either one of the perpendicular sides of a right triangle, as in your example, or one of the equal sides of an isosceles triangle. (I found these links by Googling "leg of a triangle".)

In the image, the legs of the upper right triangle are marked here in red:

FMH113475.png

The vertical one is "adjacent" to the rectangle, as stated, in the sense that it lies along one side of the rectangle. (This is not necessarily a formal math usage.) The same is true of each of the four right triangles. (This is the first image, in which these legs have length 4.)
 
shahar said:
(1) What is the meaning of legs in geometry?
Click to expand...
This is one of many examples of unfortunate hangover of history in mathematics.
I have heard it use for the two shorter sides of a right triangle.
I do not think that I ever heard it used outside the context of a right triangle.
 
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