A
polyiamond (also
polyamond or simply
iamond) is a
polyform whose base form is an
equilateral triangle. The word
polyiamond is a
back-formation from
diamond, because this word is often used to describe the shape of a pair of equilateral triangles placed base to base, and the initial 'di-' looked like a
Greek prefix meaning 'two-' (
diamond in turn actually derives from Greek
adamant). The name was suggested by recreational mathematics writer Thomas H. O'Beirne in
New Scientist 1961 number 1, page 164.