A geometric curve (like a circle, ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola) that results from slicing a cone with a plane.
From Latin conicus, from Greek konikos, derived from konos meaning 'cone,' referring to the shapes produced when a plane intersects a cone.
The ancient Greek discovery of conic sections literally created modern mathematics and physics—parabolic orbits, elliptical paths of planets, and the mathematics of mirrors and telescopes all depend on these curves.
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