Definition of parabola
- 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.
- n. - One of a group of curves defined by the equation y = axn
where n is a positive whole number or a positive fraction. For the
cubical parabola n = 3; for the semicubical parabola n = /. See under
Cubical, and Semicubical. The parabolas have infinite branches, but no
rectilineal asymptotes.