parabolic

adjective

par·​a·​bol·​ic ˌper-ə-ˈbä-lik 

ˌpa-rə-

1

: expressed by or being a parable : allegorical

2

: of, having the form of, or relating to a parabola

motion in a parabolic curve

parabolically

ˌper-ə-ˈbä-li-k(ə-)lē 

ˌpa-rə-

adverb

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.

Examples of parabolic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After being flat on the year through November 10, the token, which the SEC called in a December 2020 suit an unregistered security, has undergone a parabolic 300% surge to raise its market cap to $133 billion. —Steven Ehrlich, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

In the late 1990s, the serial entrepreneur used money from his web company’s initial public offering to hitch a ride to the edge of space with the Russian Air Force and to become an angel investor in the Zero Gravity Corporation, which commercialized parabolic flights in the US. —Daniel Oberhaus, WIRED, 5 Aug. 2019

First, the leaders: TSLA’s recent spike prompted a parabolic move vs. MAGS, too. —Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 27 Nov. 2024

Consider slime mold that could be mistaken for makeshift parabolic antenna. —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

(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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!