This is hysterical. I wanted to describe the granule found in alveolar type II cells.  I would have liked to use the distance between two outer dense layers of this regularly layered structure, which is 100nm as width, but find i need to use the word height.  I had googled before which dimension is listed first, width or height for a standard rectangle…. and as i recall and as most people have given me measurements (yes for a different job, different hobby… making stained glass patterns) for width x height, and in that order…  Portrait orientation being given as 8 x 10  or 8.5 x 11 etc etc.

So there is also the convention to use the word “length” for the longest aspect of a object. In the case of the protein granules in alveolar type II cells of some species, the long aspect can be many microns, or alternatively the granule can be short and stacked with many repeating “periods” having great height.  If one uses only the “longest dimension” to connect with the concept of length then one gets into problems of orientation.

The question is then: what word do i use for the length in the direction parallel to the granule layering to describe it.  And, do I use height or width to describe the 100nm thickness of the layered “period” or “periodicity” that can be a single unit or repeats over and over.

One would think that after thousands and thousands of years of language development that some very basic words for important stuff would have been established, but as i googled it, it becomes very apparent that they have not.  For my purposes…. I will use the scheme above.

Other issues include convention by vocation, e.g., clothiers, tailors, lumbering, carpentry. In the graphics industry, it is width x height.  As one blogger put it nicely (and to which I can certainly attest) best ask to be sure, otherwise it comes back to bite you.