[puh-rab-uh-loid] 
| a surface that can be put into a position such that its sections parallel to at least one coordinate plane are parabolas. |
[puh-rab-uh-loid-l, par-uh-buh-] , adjective pa·rab·o·loid (pə-rāb'ə-loid')  (click for larger image in new window) n. A surface having parabolic sections parallel to a single coordinate axis and elliptic sections perpendicular to that axis. pa·rab'o·loi'dal (-loid'l) adj. |
paraboloid
an open surface generated by rotating a parabola (q.v.) about its axis. If the axis of the surface is the z axis and the vertex is at the origin, the intersections of the surface with planes parallel to the xz and yz planes are parabolas (see , top). The intersections of the surface with planes parallel to and above the xy plane are circles. The general equation for this type of paraboloid is x2/a2 + y2/b2 = z
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əˌlɔɪd
