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parabola |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Parabola \Pa*rab"o*la\, n.; pl {Parabolas}. [NL., fr Gr ?; -- so called because its axis is parallel to the side of the cone. See {Parable}, and cf {Parabole}.] (Geom.) a 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}. b 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 under {Cubical}, and {Semicubical}. The parabolas have infinite branches, but no rectilineal asymptotes. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: parabola n : a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve
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