Lexic.us

Definition of Parabola

1. Noun. A plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve.

Definition of Parabola

1. n. A kind of curve; one of the conic sections formed by the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane parallel to one of its sides. It is a curve, any point of which is equally distant from a fixed point, called the focus, and a fixed straight line, called the directrix. See Focus.

Definition of Parabola

1. Noun. (geometry) The conic section formed by the intersection of a cone with a plane parallel to a tangent plane to the cone; the locus of points equidistant from a fixed point (the focus) and line (the directrix). ¹

2. Noun. (rhetoric) The explicit drawing of a parallel between two essentially dissimilar things, especially with a moral or didactic purpose. A parable. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Parabola

1. a conic section [n -S]

Medical Definition of Parabola

1. Origin: NL, fr. Gr.; so called because its axis is parallel to the side of the cone. See Parable, and cf. Parabole. A kind of curve; one of the conic sections formed by the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane parallel to one of its sides. It is a curve, any point of which is equally distant from a fixed point, called the focus, and a fixed straight line, called the directrix. See Focus. One of a group of curves defined by the equation y = ax^n where n is a positive whole number or a positive fraction. For the cubical parabola n = 3; for the semicubical parabola n = 3/2. See Cubical, and Semicubical. The parabolas have infinite branches, but no rectilineal asymptotes. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Parabola

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