I'm looking for a technical word to describe objects that are travelling in parallel pathways but in opposite directions from each other. For instance on a highway you have two cars , one in the southbound lane and the other in the northbound lane, you would say the cars are .............(fill in the blank).
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1Avoid word or phrase requests that lack: (i) your criteria for accepting answers, including connotation, register, and part of speech; (ii) exact context – generally we want the sentence you’re writing; and (iii) details of research you’ve already done (trips to the thesaurus, etc.) including solutions you’ve already rejected, and why. See: “Single word requests, crosswords, and the fight against mediocrity – ELU Meta”; “Real Questions Have Answers – SE Blog”.– MetaEdDec 26, 2017 at 22:18
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1I suggest that belongs not to any English, but to first-year maths or physics degrees. If you drop the parallel and look at merely opposite directions it might well be covered in A-level, which outside the UK prolly equates to senior high school.– Robbie GoodwinDec 27, 2017 at 2:08
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2 Answers
ODO gives this definition of antiparallel:
antiparallel adjective
Physics
Parallel but moving or oriented in opposite directions.
This fits your first two requirements (register and general definition) but would not fit your form and would not be suitable in most broadcast traffic commentaries.
answered Dec 26, 2017 at 23:32
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Wow. I would have guessed that would mean perpendicular. After seeing the meaning I can understand how they arrived at that meaning but its use will probably lead to confusion unless it’s well-explained.– JimDec 27, 2017 at 2:08
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@Jim Actually, this usage (parallel but opposite) is established. Had the term not been suggested already, I'd have added it as an answer.– LawrenceDec 27, 2017 at 7:34
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1@Lawrence - I’m not doubting it. I’m just saying that I’d never heard of It and that I would have guessed wrong about what it meant had I encountered it in the wild.– JimDec 27, 2017 at 7:37
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1@Jim Ah, the world of technical terminology. Who'd have guessed that normal would have meant perpendicular! :)– LawrenceDec 27, 2017 at 7:44
For traffic in particular, we have oncoming cars
a car etc that is coming towards you
"oncoming car/traffic", From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
However, this is normally used from the vantage point of the street, or in close proximity to the traffic. It doesn't sound idiomatic to use it as a remote, conceptual description.
