parabola Hear it!

parabola definition

pa·rabo·la (pə rab′ə lə)

noun

Geom. a plane curve which is the path, or locus, of a moving point that remains equally distant from a fixed point (focus) and from a fixed straight line (directrix); curve formed by the section of a cone cut by a plane parallel to the side of the cone

Etymology: ModL < Gr parabolē, lit., application, comparison (see parable): it is produced by the “application” of a given area to a given straight line

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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