parabolic
adjective
Did you know?
The two distinct meanings of parabolic trace back to the development of Late Latin and New Latin. Late Latin is the Latin language used by writers in the third to sixth centuries. In that language, the word for "parable" was parabola—hence, the "parable" sense of parabolic. New Latin refers to the Latin used since the end of the medieval period, especially in regard to scientific description and classification. In New Latin, parabola names the same geometrical curve as it does in English. Both meanings of parabola were drawn from the Greek word for "comparison": parabolē.
Example Sentences
New York Times, 13 June 2022 But space junkies have an ever-expanding universe of options to choose from to get their cosmic fix -- ultra-high altitude space balloons, parabolic flights for weightlessness experiences, and soon, even space walks might be possible. Paul Sillers, CNN, 4 Apr. 2022 Breaking out above the 120-month SMA in November 2011 began the parabolic rise that may have peaked over the last four months. Richard Henry Suttmeier, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2021 The sound hit the parabolic reflector in the ceiling and bounced back down to the audience. Jacques Kelly, baltimoresun.com, 4 Jan. 2022 The Deauville was unmistakable, greeting visitors with a dramatic porte-cochère fashioned of parabolic curves over the driveway entrance, a feature of its postwar-modernist architectural style. New York Times, 17 Jan. 2022 If this level rises above 90.00, the stock will be in an inflating parabolic bubble formation. Richard Henry Suttmeier, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2022 The new suit has gotten pilot testing in Earth gravity, in a partial-gravity simulator, and on parabolic flights that induce microgravity. Sarah Scoles, Wired, 9 Nov. 2021 For years, the company has been able to create an experience for customers that mimics the weightless experience of going to space by flying in parabolic arcs. Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2021 See More Word History
(sense 1) Middle English parabolik, borrowed from Late Latin parabolicus, borrowed from Greek parabolikós "figurative," from parabolḗ "comparison, parable" + -ikos -ic entry 1; (sense 2) borrowed from New Latin parabolicus, from parabola parabola + -icus -ic entry 1
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2