Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Conic?

\Con"ic\, Conical \Con"ic*al\, a. [Gr. ?: cf. F. conique. See {Cone}.] 1. Having the form of, or resembling, a geometrical cone; round and tapering to a point, or gradually lessening in circumference; as, a conic or conical figure; a conical vessel. 2. Of or pertaining to a cone; as, conic sections. {Conic section} (Geom.), a curved line formed by the intersection of the surface of a right cone and a plane. The conic sections are the parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola. The right lines and the circle which result from certain positions of the plane are sometimes, though not generally included. {Conic sections}, that branch of geometry which treats of the parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola. {Conical pendulum}. See {Pendulum}. {Conical projection}, a method of delineating the surface of a sphere upon a plane surface as if projected upon the surface of a cone; -- much used by makers of maps in Europe. {Conical surface} (Geom.), a surface described by a right line moving along any curve and always passing through a fixed point that is not in the plane of that curve.
\Con"ic\, n. (Math.) A conic section.