Con"ic , n. (Math.) A conic section.
{ Con"ic (?), 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.
Hear it pronounced