Lexic.us

Definition of Curvature

1. Noun. (medicine) a curving or bending; often abnormal. "Curvature of the spine"

2. Noun. The rate of change (at a point) of the angle between a curve and a tangent to the curve.

3. Noun. The property possessed by the curving of a line or surface.

Definition of Curvature

1. n. The act of curving, or the state of being bent or curved; a curving or bending, normal or abnormal, as of a line or surface from a rectilinear direction; a bend; a curve.

Definition of Curvature

1. Noun. The shape of something curved. ¹

2. Noun. (mathematics) The extent to which a subspace is curved within a metric space. ¹

3. Noun. (context: differential geometry) The extent to which a Riemannian manifold is intrinsically curved. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Curvature

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Curvature

1. A bending or flexure. See: angulation. Synonym: curvatura. Origin: L. Curvatura, fr. Curvo, pp. -atus, to bend, curve (05 Mar 2000)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Curvature

curvaceous curvaceously curvaceousness curvacious curvate curvated curvation curvations curvative curvatives

curvaton curvatons curvatura curvatura ventriculi major curvatura ventriculi minor curvature (current term) curvature aberration curvature hyperopia curvature of field curvatures

curve curve-billed tinamou curve-billed tinamous curve ball curve deficiency curve of Spee curve of occlusion curveball curveballed curveballing

Literary usage of Curvature

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Dictionary of Science, Literature, & Art: Comprising the Definitions and by William Thomas Brande, George William Cox (1867)
"The circle, being the curve whose curvature is uniform, is always used, as a measure of the curvature of other curves; that is to say, the curvature at any ..."

2. Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus: With Examples and by James Morford Taylor, William Christ (1889)
"The radius of curvature in terms of polar coordinates can be found by ... The circle of curvature, in general, cuts the curve at the point of contact. ..."

3. A Treatise on Conic Sections: Containing an Account of Some of the Most by George Salmon (1900)
"To find the radius of curvature of a parabola. The equation referred to any ... In all the conic sections the radius of curvature is equal to the cube of ..."

4. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1920)
"Gauss has called the area on the sphere the total curvature (curvatura integra) of the corresponding area on the surface. If dz is an infinitely small area ..."

5. Catalogue of Scientific Papers, 1800-1900: Subject Indexby Royal Society (Great Britain), Herbert McLeod by Royal Society (Great Britain), Herbert McLeod (1908)
"Bordeaux S. Centre of curvature of plane section, construction. Mannheim, А. С. В. 78 (1874) Sc. ... Centres of curvature, principal, of confocal quadrics ..."

6. Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus by William Anthony Granville (1904)
"This ratio is by definition the curvature of the circle, and we have (M) K = W The curvature of a circle equals the reciprocal of its radius. 113. ..."

7. A Treatise on the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity by Augustus Edward Hough Love (1906)
"Let the equations of the lines of curvature of the unstrained surface be expressed in the forms o = const, and ß = const., where a and ß are functions of ..."

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