Curve, n. [See Curve,
a., Cirb.] 1. A
bending without angles; that which is bent; a flexure; as, a
curve in a railway or canal.
2. (Geom.) A line described
according to some low, and having no finite portion of it a
straight line.
Axis of a curve. See under
Axis. -- Curve of quickest descent.
See Brachystochrone. -- Curve
tracing (Math.), the process of determining
the shape, location, singular points, and other peculiarities of
a curve from its equation. -- Plane curve
(Geom.), a curve such that when a plane passes through
three points of the curve, it passes through all the other points
of the curve. Any other curve is called a curve of double
curvature, or a twisted curve.
Curve (kûrv), a. [L.
curvus bent, curved. See Cirb.] Bent without
angles; crooked; curved; as, a curve line; a curve
surface.
Curve, v. i. To bend or turn
gradually from a given direction; as, the road curves to
the right.
Curve, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Curved (k?rvd); p. pr. & vb.
n. Curving.] [L. curvare., fr.
curvus. See Curve, a.,
Curb.] To bend; to crook; as, to curve a line;
to curve a pipe; to cause to swerve from a straight
course; as, to curve a ball in pitching it.