Meanings
plural brachistochrones
- mathematicsA cycloid; the curve of fastest descent between two points.
1 more example
Let A and B be two fixed points. Then the time it takes a particle to slide under the influence of gravity along some path joining A and B depends on the choice of the path (curve), and hence is a functional. The curve such that the particle takes the least time to go from A to B is called the brachistochrone.
1963, Gelfand, I.M. and S.V. Fomin, Calculus of Variations, Prentice-Hall, Inc., page 3
Origin
- Ancient Greekβράχιστος“shortest”
- Englishbrachistochrone
From Ancient Greek βράχιστος (brákhistos, “shortest”) + χρόνος (khrónos, “time”). The term was coined by Johann Bernoulli.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 最速降線 /最速降线
- 最速降線 /最速降线 (zuìsùjiàngxiàn)cycloid — see also cycloid
Finnish brakistokroni
- brakistokronicycloid — see also cycloid
French brachistochrone
- brachistochronecycloid — see also cycloid
Italian brachistocrona
- brachistocronacycloid — see also cycloid
Portuguese braquistócrona
- braquistócronacycloid — see also cycloid
Romanian brahistocronă
- brahistocronăcycloid — see also cycloid
Cite this entry
brachistochrone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brachistochrone
“brachistochrone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brachistochrone. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brachistochrone,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brachistochrone.
Source: brachistochrone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.