parabolen.
/pəˈrabəli/, /pəˈrabl̩i/, U.S. /pəˈræbəli/ Now rare.
1. Mathematics. = parabola n. 1a – 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > curve > [noun] > conic section > parabola
parabola1559
parabolic1657
parabole1676
1676 J. Glanvill Ess. iii. 12 Perseus..enrich'd Geometry with the Invention of three kinds of Crooked Lines, the Parabole, Hyperbole, and Ellipsis.
1684 T. Baker Geom. Key 10 Though no necessity of invoking a Parabole..to midwife forth the two first classes of Equations.
1847 Sci. Amer. 12 June 302/2 The form of a parabole (conic) has been found to be the best.
1874 Manufacturer & Builder 6 205/3 The difference between the two forms becomes apparent, as the parabole differs from the circle.
1922 Isis 4 580 The translation of a memoir on the measurement of the parabole by Thābit ibn Qurra.
1966 R. Graves 17 Poems missing from Love Respelt 13 Pools of light..Grew crescent-shaped like moons—dizzying us With paraboles of colour.
2. Rhetoric. A comparison, a simile; metaphorical speech. See earlier parabola n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > figure of speech > figures of meaning > [noun] > simile
ylikenessOE
likenessc1175
comparisona1382
similec1400
similitudec1400
resemblancec1405
analogya1536
likening1573
parabola1577
icon1589
parabole1828
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Parabole, in oratory, similitude; comparison.
1904 N.E.D. at Parabolic Of or pertaining to parabole; metaphorical.
1943 J. T. Shipley Dict. World Lit. 422/1 Parabole, a metaphor, in the broadest sense, as basic in all poetry.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1676