Word Study
brachystochrone
CIDE DICTIONARY
brachystochrone, n. [Incorrect for brachistochrone, fr. Gr. bra`chistos shortest (superl. of brachy`s short) + time : cf. F. brachistochrone. ].
A curve, in which a body, starting from a given point, and descending solely by the force of gravity, will reach another given point in a shorter time than it could by any other path. This curve of quickest descent, as it is sometimes called, is, in a vacuum, the same as the cycloid . [1913 Webster]
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