Hyperbola definition
(geom.) The path of a point that moves so that the difference of its distances from two fixed points, the foci, is constant; curve formed by the section of a cone cut by a plane more steeply inclined than the side of the cone.
noun
A plane curve having two separate parts or branches, formed when two cones that point toward one another are intersected by a plane that is parallel to the axes of the cones.
A plane curve having two branches, formed by the intersection of a plane with both halves of a right circular cone at an angle parallel to the axis of the cone. It is the locus of points for which the difference of the distances from two given points is a constant.
noun
(geometry) A conic section formed by the intersection of a cone with a plane that intersects the base of the cone and is not tangent to the cone.
noun
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Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
hyperbola
Plural:
hyperbol, hyperbolae, hyperbolasOrigin of hyperbola
- New Latin from Greek huperbolē a throwing beyond, excess (from the relationship between the line joining the vertices of a conic and the line through its focus and parallel to its directrix) hyperbole
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Ancient Greek ὑπερβολή (huperbolē).
From Wiktionary