Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

parabola

/pəˈɹæb.ə.lə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.39 in modern English

Syllables: par-a-bola
IPA: /pəˈɹæb.ə.lə/

12

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The conic section formed by the intersection of a cone with a plane parallel to a tangent plane to the cone; the locus of points equidistant from a fixed point (the focus) and line (the directrix).

noun

Synonym of parable.

Example Sentences

"And it saves his life. As he's buzzing down a curving, narrow canal, a narrow green parabola appears hanging across the water in front of him, suddenly rising out of the water and snapping into a perfectly straight line at neck level."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Hellenic *pərai Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ́ (părắ) Ancient Greek παρα- (para-) Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der. Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō Ancient Greek βάλλω (bállō) Ancient Greek παραβάλλω (parabállō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ)bor. New Latin parabolabor. English parabola Borrowed from New Latin parabola, from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ), from παραβάλλω (parabállō, “to set side by side”), from παρά (pará, “beside”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”). Doublet of parable, parole, and palaver.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: parabola, παραβολή

Inflected Forms

parabolas (plural) parabolae (plural) parabolæ (plural)

Derived Forms

paraboliform parabolism paraboloid semiparabola sporabola

Frequently Paired Words

parabolaster hyperbola ellipse circle

Synonyms

parable

Questions

How do you pronounce parabola?: The recorded pronunciation is /pəˈɹæb.ə.lə/.
What does parabola mean?: The conic section formed by the intersection of a cone with a plane parallel to a tangent plane to the cone; the locus of points equidistant from a fixed point (the focus) and line (the directrix).
Where does parabola come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce parabola

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “parabola”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pəˈɹæb.ə.lə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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