[W/K] :: Parabola

  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.
         [1913 Webster]

  parabola
       n : a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular
           cone and a plane parallel to an element of the curve

  18 Moby Thesaurus words for "parabola":
     arc, bow, catacaustic, catenary, caustic, circle, conchoid, crook,
     curl, curve, diacaustic, ellipse, festoon, hook, hyperbola, lituus,
     sinus, tracery