curve

Attested since the 1690s, from Latin curvus (“bent, curved”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, curve, turn”) + *-wós. Doublet of curb, shrink, carcer, and cancer.

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /kɜːv/, [ˈkʰɜːv]

  • Audio (London)

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /kɚv/, [ˈkʰɚv]

  • Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)v

curve

1. (obsolete) Bent without angles; crooked; curved.

   a curve line

   a curve surface

curve (plural curves)

1. A gentle bend, such as in a road.

   You should slow down when approaching a curve.

2. A simple figure containing no straight portions and no angles; a curved line.

   She scribbled a curve on the paper.

3. A grading system based on the scale of performance of a group used to normalize a right-skewed grade distribution (with more lower scores) into a bell curve, so that more can receive higher grades, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject.

   The teacher was nice and graded the test on a curve.

4. (analytic geometry) A continuous map from a one-dimensional space to a multidimensional space.
5. (geometry) A one-dimensional figure of non-zero length; the graph of a continuous map from a one-dimensional space.
6. (algebraic geometry) An algebraic curve; a polynomial relation of the planar coordinates.
7. (topology) A one-dimensional continuum.
8. (informal, usually in the plural) The attractive shape of a woman's body.

curve (third-person singular simple present curves, present participle curving, simple past and past participle curved)

1. (transitive) To bend; to crook.

   to curve a line

   to curve a pipe

2. (transitive) To cause to swerve from a straight course.

   to curve a ball in pitching it

3. (intransitive) To bend or turn gradually from a given direction.

   the road curves to the right

4. (transitive) To grade on a curve (bell curve of a normal distribution).

   The teacher will curve the test.

5. (transitive) (slang) To reject, to turn down romantic advances.

   I was once curved three times by the same woman.

• cruve

From English curve (“grading system”).

• (Alternative pronunciation): IPA^(key): /kʰœːf⁵⁵/

curve (Hong Kong Cantonese)

1. curve (grading system) (Classifier: 條／条 c)
2. (by extension) standards (something used as a measure for comparison) (Classifier: 條／条 c)

• 拉curve

Borrowed from Latin curvus (“bent, curved”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʏr.və/

• Audio

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• Hyphenation: cur‧ve

curve f (plural curven or curves, diminutive curvetje n)

1. curve: curved line

   Synonym: kromme

curve

1. inflection of curvar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

curve

1. feminine plural of curvo

curve f

1. plural of curva

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkur.u̯e/, [ˈkʊru̯ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkur.ve/, [ˈkurve]

curve

1. vocative masculine singular of curvus

curve

1. inflection of curvar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

• IPA^(key): [ˈkurve]

curve f

1. plural of curvă

• IPA^(key): /ˈkuɾbe/ [ˈkuɾ.β̞e]
• Rhymes: -uɾbe
• Syllabification: cur‧ve

curve

1. inflection of curvar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative