platonic bodies
Preserved but no longer current.
An old name for the five regular geometric solids described by Plato — viz the tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron, all of which are bounded by like, equal, and regular planes.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “platonic bodies” mean?
An old name for the five regular geometric solids described by Plato — viz the tetrahedron, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron, all of which are bounded by like, equal, and regular planes.
Is “platonic bodies” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.