Definition:Latus Rectum of Parabola/Definition 2
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Definition
The latus rectum of a parabola $P$ is the chord of $P$ passing through the focus of $P$ parallel to the directrix $D$.
Also see
- Results about the latus rectum of a parabola can be found here.
Linguistic Note
The term latus rectum is a compound of the Latin:
- latus, meaning side
- rectum, meaning straight or right, as in straight line or right angle.
Hence it literally means right side or straight side.
Its plural is latera recta.
Sources
- Weisstein, Eric W. "Latus Rectum." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/LatusRectum.html