A floor that measures 4 feet square has an area of 16 square feet
What is the expession used for a cube whose sides are squares that measure the same?
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This sounds like a mathematical rather than one of English language usage. Would this reference [reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/apn22u/… help you with an answer?– TuffyCommented Aug 10 at 14:46
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All cubes have six square 'sides' (faces). 'A cube of side length 4 foot/feet' defines such a cube. And 'a floor that measures 4 feet square' means 'a square floor of length 4 feet'.– Edwin AshworthCommented Aug 10 at 15:53
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I don't think we would describe a cube by the sizes of the sides, we'd describe it by the sizes of the edges, just like the square.– BarmarCommented Aug 10 at 17:06
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2a cube whose sides are squares -- every cube has sides that are squares– Jim MackCommented Aug 10 at 22:06
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1This is about the use of English words in describing the phrase. It belongs here.– ElliotCommented Aug 11 at 4:21
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2 Answers
A floor that measures 4 feet square has an area of 16 square feet
A room that measures 4 feet cubed has a volume of 64 cubic feet.
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It doesn't matter how idiomatic it is, there's no more idiomatic phrase. It's common to have a square area, table, piece of wood, but a cube is very rare and hence no idiom exists– Stuart FCommented Aug 11 at 18:47
A "four foot square" would normally mean a square of side length 4 feet. Likewise a "four foot cube" would mean a cube of edge length 4 feet. Because the foot is a unit of linear measurement there is no real risk of confusion with the area in square feet or the volume in cubic feet.
There are contexts such as television screen size where a diagonal length is understood, but this understanding does not apply to these simple geometric figures.
