A curved line traced by a point on a circle as it rolls along a straight line, or a related geometric curve.
From cyclo- (Greek kyklos, 'circle') + -ode (from Greek hodos, 'path' or 'way'). A mathematical term describing the path traced during circular motion, formalized in 17th-century geometry.
Cycloids show up everywhere in physics—the fastest path between two points under gravity (brachistochrone curve) is a cycloid, and Galileo was fascinated by them as he developed physics as a science.
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