/peuh rab"euh leuh/ , n. Geom.
a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane parallel to a generator of the cone; the set of points in a plane that are equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point in the same plane or in a parallel plane. Equation: y 2 = 2 px or x 2 = 2 py. See diag. under conic section .
[ 1570-80; parabolé an application. See PARABLE ]