CURVE

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin curvus; akin to Greek kyrtos convex, Middle Irish cruinn round Date: 15th century bent or formed into a ~, II. verb (~d; curving) Etymology: Latin curvare, from curvus Date: 1594 intransitive verb to have or take a turn, change, or deviation from a straight line or plane surface without sharp breaks or angularity, transitive verb to cause to ~, to throw a ~ball to (a batter), to grade (as an examination) on a ~, III. noun Date: 1666 1. a line especially when ~d: as, the path of a moving point, a line defined by an equation so that the coordinates of its points are functions of a single independent variable or parameter, the graph of a variable, something ~d: as, a curving line of the human body, parenthesis , 3. ~ball , trick , deception , a distribution indicating the relative performance of individuals measured against each other that is used especially in assigning good, medium, or poor grades to usually predetermined proportions of students rather than in assigning grades based on predetermined standards of achievement, trend , curvy adjective