| paracentrical | Deviating from circularity; changing the distance from a center. <mathematics> Paracentric curve, a curve having the property that, when its plane is placed vertically, a body descending along it, by the force of gravity, will approach to, or recede from, a fixed point or center, by equal distances in equal times; called also a paracentric. Paracentric motton or velocity, the motion or velocity of a revolving body, as a planet, by which it approaches to, or recedes from, the center, without reference to its motion in space, or to its motion as reckoned in any other direction. Origin: Pref. Para- + centric, -ical: cf. F. Paracentrique. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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