> rotate ~ sounds like transpose matrix, what is not true in this case.
for me the relation rotation is exactly what \x does
The various definitions that I can see, such as http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rotate make no mention of matrices. It applies to anything that moves around a pivot or axis.
Overall I don't see the evidence that "rotate" alone would suggest transposing a matrix.
Now it appears that there is a concept in linear algebra named "rotation matrix", defined as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotation_matrix that seems quite relevant for 3D software.
But as psql is not a tool for linear algebra or 3D in the first place, who could realistically be deceived?
Best regards, -- Daniel Vérité PostgreSQL-powered mailer: http://www.manitou-mail.org Twitter: @DanielVerite