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

These orbiters, such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey, have large, parabolic antennas that use large amounts of power, on the order of 100 watts, to communicate with Earth. —IEEE Spectrum, 21 July 2021

Photograph: Tony Luong By 1955, the Air Force had refined the art of parabolic flight and could reliably provide up to 30 seconds of microgravity at a time. —Nicola Twilley, WIRED, 11 Feb. 2020

Aided by its curious title, The Courage To Be Disliked is a parabolic conversation between a youth and a philosopher designed to explicate the intersection of Greek philosophy and Adlerian psychology. —Tim Maurer, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025

To simulate these conditions on Earth, scientists use parabolic flight paths, where an aircraft flies in a series of arcs to create brief periods of weightlessness. —William Mullane, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2025

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

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