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Glite Dictionary
closed curve

closed curve

6.5
A curve with no endpoints that comes back to its starting point, like a circle
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : curva cerrada
  • The figure drawn on the board was a closed curve, looping back to its starting point.

But if there are time like closed curves, it means that you return to the place and the time where you previously were.

Examples

  • A circle is an example of a closed curve, where the starting point and ending point are the same.

  • Stokes says if I have a closed curve in space.

  • But if there are time like closed curves, it means that you return to the place and the time where you previously were.

    Sabine Hossenfelder

  • Can you have closed curves and open ones and say, what's that?

  • So we do see that there are situations where parallel transport along a closed curve does not bring you back to the same thing.

  • Zahn, C., & Roskies, R. (1972). Fourier descriptors for plane closed curves. IEEE Transactions on Computers, 21, 269-281. Appendix A (p. 1 of 7).

    Academic text (2011)

  • In geometry, a closed curve does not have endpoints, making it a continuous shape.

Surface Forms

closed curve singular
closed curves plural

Morphology

closed + curve

The meaning 'a curve whose start and end meet / has no endpoints' is directly derivable from combining 'closed' (not open; containing its endpoints) with 'curve' (a continuous bent line). While 'closed' has a technical mathematical nuance, the compositional logic is straightforward and mirrored in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The term closed curve comes from the simple picture of a curve that is closed because it returns to its start and makes a complete loop with no loose ends. That's why it means 'a curve whose starting point and ending point are the same'.