Part 726

&fist; The curule chair was usually shaped like a camp stool, and provided with curved legs. It was at first ornamented with ivory, and later sometimes made of ivory and inlaid with gold.

Curule dignity right of sitting in the curule chair.

||Cu*ru"ro (k??-r??"r?), n. [Chilian name.] (Zo÷l.) A Chilian burrowing rodent of the genus Spalacopus.

{ Cur"val (k?r"val), Cur"vant (- vant) }, a. [L. curvans, p. pr. ] (Her.) Bowed; bent; curved.

{ Cur"vate (k?r"v?t), Cur"va*ted (-v?-t?d), } a. [L. curvatus p. p. of curvare to curve, fr. curvus. See Curve.] Bent in a regular form; curved.

Cur*va"tion (k?r-v?"sh?n), n. [L. curvatio.] The act of bending or crooking.

Cur"va*tive (k?r"v?-t?v), a. (Bot.) Having the margins only a little curved; -- said of leaves. Henslow.

Cur"va*ture (k?r"v?-t?r; 135), n. [L. curvatura. See Curvate.] 1. The act of curving, or the state of being bent or curved; a curving or bending, normal or abnormal, as of a line or surface from a rectilinear direction; a bend; a curve. Cowper.

The elegant curvature of their fronds. Darwin.

2. (Math.) The amount of degree of bending of a mathematical curve, or the tendency at any point to depart from a tangent drawn to the curve at that point.

Aberrancy of curvature (Geom.), the deviation of a curve from a circular form. -- Absolute curvature. See under Absolute. -- Angle of curvature (Geom.), one that expresses the amount of curvature of a curve. -- Chord of curvature. See under Chord. -- Circle of curvature. See Osculating circle of a curve, under Circle. -- Curvature of the spine (Med.), an abnormal curving of the spine, especially in a lateral direction. -- Radius of curvature, the radius of the circle of curvature, or osculatory circle, at any point of a curve.

Curve (kűrv), a. [L. curvus bent, curved. See Cirb.] Bent without angles; crooked; curved; as, a curve line; a curve surface.

Curve, n. [See Curve, a., Cirb.] 1. A bending without angles; that which is bent; a flexure; as, a curve in a railway or canal.

2. (Geom.) A line described according to some low, and having no finite portion of it a straight line.

Axis of a curve. See under Axis. -- Curve of quickest descent. See Brachystochrone. -- Curve tracing (Math.), the process of determining the shape, location, singular points, and other peculiarities of a curve from its equation. -- Plane curve (Geom.), a curve such that when a plane passes through three points of the curve, it passes through all the other points of the curve. Any other curve is called a curve of double curvature, or a twisted curve.

Curve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curved (k?rvd); p. pr. & vb. n. Curving.] [L. curvare., fr. curvus. See Curve, a., Curb.] To bend; to crook; as, to curve a line; to curve a pipe; to cause to swerve from a straight course; as, to curve a ball in pitching it.

Curve, v. i. To bend or turn gradually from a given direction; as, the road curves to the right.

Curv"ed*ness (-?d-n?s), n. The state of being curved.

Cur"vet (kűr"v?t or kűr-v?t"; 277), n. [OE. corvet, It. corvetta: cf. F. courbette. See Curve, and cf. Corvetto.] 1. (Man.) A particular leap of a horse, when he raises both his fore legs at once, equally advanced, and, as his fore legs are falling, raises his hind legs, so that all his legs are in the air at once.

2. A prank; a frolic.

Cur"vet, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Curveted or -vetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Curveting or -vetting.] [Cf. It. corvettare. See Curvet, n.] 1. To make a curvet; to leap; to bound. "Oft and high he did curvet." Drayton.

2. To leap and frisk; to frolic. Shak.

Cur"vet, v. t. To cause to curvet. Landor.

Cur`vi*cau"date (k?r`v?-k?"d?t), a. [L. curvus bent + E. caudate.] (Zo÷l.) Having a curved or crooked tail.

Cur`vi*cos"tate (k?r`v?-k?s"t?t), a. [L. curvus + E. costate.] (Bot.) Having bent ribs.

Cur`vi*den"tate (k?r`v?-d?n"t?t), a. [L. curvus + E. dentate.] Having curved teeth.

Cur"vi*form (k?r"v?-f?rm), a. [L. curvus + -form.] Having a curved form.

Cur`vi*lin"e*ad (k?r`v?-l?n"?-?d), n. (Geom.) An instrument for drawing curved lines.