tautochrone

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ταὐτός (tautós, “the same”) + χρόνος (khrónos, “time”).

Noun

tautochrone (plural tautochrones)

1. (mathematics) A curve, such that a heavy body, descending along it by the action of gravity, will always arrive at the lowest point in the same time, wherever in the curve it may begin to fall.

   Synonym: tautochrone curve

   An inverted cycloid with its base horizontal is a tautochrone.

Derived terms

• tautochronous

 

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “tautochrone”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔ.tɔ.kʁɔn/, /to.tɔ.kʁɔn/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

tautochrone (plural tautochrones)

1. tautochronous

Noun

tautochrone f (plural tautochrones)

1. tautochrone

Further reading

• “tautochrone”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.