locus

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: lo=cus

CIDE DICTIONARY

locus, n. [L., place. Cf. Allow, Couch, Lieu, Local.].

•  A place; a locality.  [1913 Webster]
•  The line traced by a point which varies its position according to some determinate law; the surface described by a point or line that moves according to a given law.  [1913 Webster]

Plane locus, a locus that is a straight line, or a circle. -- Solid locus, a locus that is one of the conic sections.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

locus, n. (pl. loci)
1 a position or point, esp. in a text, treatise, etc.
2 Math. a curve etc. formed by all the points satisfying a particular equation of the relation between coordinates, or by a point, line, or surface moving according to mathematically defined conditions.
3 Biol. the position of a gene, mutation, etc. on a chromosome.

Etymology

L, = place

THESAURUS

locus

abode, area, bearings, bench mark, district, emplacement, hole, latitude and longitude, lieu, locale, locality, location, pinpoint, place, placement, point, position, region, site, situation, situs, spot, station, stead, where, whereabout, whereabouts