Păr'a-bŏl'ic or Păr'a-bŏl'ic-al, a.
a. [Fr. parabolique, It. & Sp. parabolico, Gr. παραβολικός. See supra.]
Sense 1. Expressed by parable or allegorical representation; as, parabolical instruction or description.
Sense 2. [From parabola.] (Geom.) (a.) Having the form or nature of a parabola; pertaining to, or resembling, a parabola; as, a parabolic curve. (b.) Generated by the revolution of a parabola; as, a parabolic conoid.
Parabolic conoid. The same as PARABOLOID.—Parabolic spindle, the solid generated by revolving the portion of a parabola cut off by a line drawn at right angles to the axis of the curve, about that line as an axis.—Parabolic spiral, a spiral curve conceived to be formed by the periphery of a semi-parabola when its axis is wrapped about a circle; also, any other spiral curve having an analogy to the parabola.