brachystochrone Meaning, Definition & Usage

Incorrect for brachistochrone, fr. Gr. shortest (superl. of short) + time : cf. F. brachistochrone.

(Math.) A curve, in which a body, starting from a given point, and descending solely by the force of gravity, will reach another given point in a shorter time than it could by any other path. This curve of quickest descent, as it is sometimes called, is, in a vacuum, the same as the cycloid.