Vanishing point

Etymology

"Vanish" comes from Latin "evanescere" (to disappear), from "e-" (out) and "vanus" (empty) — the same root as "vain." The point is where receding lines seem to shrink to nothing and vanish, a concept formalized with Renaissance linear perspective.

noun phrase · /VAN-ish-ing POINT/
The point on the horizon where parallel lines appear to converge in a perspective drawing.
What it names
The single hidden anchor that organizes an entire perspective image — find it and you can see exactly how the artist built the illusion of depth.
Example
Trace the railway tracks and the road’s edges and they all meet at one vanishing point behind the church.
Related idea
The vanishing point is a single spot on the horizon line; the horizon line itself represents the viewer’s eye level and can hold several vanishing points at once. The horizon sets the height of the eye; the vanishing points sit along it.