Talk:Conformal map projection

The word figure seems overused and potentially confusing

This article pervasively uses the word figure to mean "shape" (of some feature on the Earth). This is not usage that I am especially familiar with, and it seems potentially confusing with other meanings of figure (e.g. a graphical illustration, a configuration of idealized geometrical objects, the subject of a painting, or the Figure of the Earth). In some quick efforts at literature search I can find some examples of this usage, but they are older (e.g. this from 1908) or written by non-English-native authors. I wonder if we should try to rewrite using an alternate term or terms, for clarity. Modern English-language authors seem to generally prefer the word shape. –jacobolus (t) 17:08, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Now that you point it out, yes, “figure” is idiosyncratic. “Shape” seems much more clear. Strebe (talk) 22:11, 10 January 2023 (UTC)