tumblehome
n.— «With cars, words and metal share territory: each brand’s vocabulary of shapes is collectively known as its design language. The beltline divides the greenhouse, or glassed-in upper body, from the portion that extends down from the window sills.…The angle of the windshield is known as its rake—an extreme tilt is said to be fast—while the inward angle of the side greenhouse windows is called the tumblehome.» —“Body Language: How to Talk the Designers’ Talk” by Phil Patton New York Times Apr. 1, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A caller wonders if she’s being hypersensitive about the way her boss addresses her in emails. Can the use of an employee’s first name ever reflect a power differential? And: a community choir director wants a term for “the act of...
Language is always evolving, and that’s also true for American Sign Language. A century ago, the sign for “telephone” was one fist below your mouth and the other at your ear, as if you’re holding an old-fashioned candlestick...
It also refers to a part of a boat. It is the side of the boat toward the top that curves inward. Not all boats have tumblehome.