Pronunciation: ˌ l ē -m ə - ' s ō n
Function: noun
Etymology: F, literally, snail, from Old French, diminutive of limaz slug, snail, from Latin limax; akin to Russian slimak snail and probably to Old English l ī m birdlime ― more at LIME
Date: 1873
: a plane curve whose equation in polar coordinates has one of the forms ρ = a cos θ ± b or ρ = a sin θ ± b and which reduces to a cardioid when a = b