curve

A parabola is a curve produced when a cone is cut by a plane. It is one of the family of curves called conic sections that also includes the circle, ellipse, and hyperbola. These curves are produced when the plane cuts the cone at different angles and positions.

In geometry, the locus of a point moving according to specified conditions. The circle is the locus of all points equidistant from a given point (the centre). Other common geometrical curves are the ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola, which are also produced when a cone is cut by a plane at different angles.

Many curves have been invented for the solution of special problems in geometry and mechanics - for example, the cissoid (the inverse of a parabola) and the cycloid.