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Glite Dictionary
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hypercycle

hypercycle

9.9
A curve of points a fixed distance from a straight line in hyperbolic geometry
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : hiperciclo
  • In hyperbolic geometry, a hypercycle is defined by its constant distance from a straight line.

Examples

  • The mathematician explained how a hypercycle differs from a circle in non-Euclidean space.

  • Students used models to visualize a hypercycle and its relationship to the central geodesic.

  • A hypercycle exists.

  • Look at that hypercycle!

  • In hyperbolic geometry, a hypercycle is defined by its constant distance from a straight line.

  • To understand hyperbolic geometry better, we learned how a hypercycle is formed relative to a fixed line.

  • The diagram clearly shows how a hypercycle maintains a consistent distance from the given straight line.

Surface Forms

hypercycle singular
hypercycles plural

Morphology

hypercycle = cycle (opaque) = hyper + cycle

The word is formally built from hyper- + cycle, but the geometric term's meaning is specialized and not predictable for an average learner from the component meanings alone.

Etymology

Hypercycle comes from the Greek parts hyper 'over' or 'beyond' and cycle 'circle' or 'loop', like in hyperactive and bicycle. In geometry it names a curve that stays a fixed distance from a straight line, so the word pictures a 'circle' lying 'beyond' or 'over' that line.