from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Cone \Cone\ (k[=o]n?), n. [L. conus cone (in sense 1), Gr.
kw^nos; akin to Skr. [,c]ana whetstone, L. cuneus wedge, and
prob. to E. hone. See {Hone}, n.]
1. (Geom.) A solid of the form described by the revolution of
a right-angled triangle about one of the sides adjacent to
the right angle; -- called also a {right cone}. More
generally, any solid having a vertical point and bounded
by a surface which is described by a straight line always
passing through that vertical point; a solid having a
circle for its base and tapering to a point or vertex.
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2. Anything shaped more or less like a mathematical cone; as,
a volcanic cone, a collection of scori[ae] around the
crater of a volcano, usually heaped up in a conical form.
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Now had Night measured with her shadowy cone
Half way up hill this vast sublunar vault. --Milton.
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3. (Bot.) The fruit or strobile of the {Conifer[ae]}, as of
the pine, fir, cedar, and cypress. It is composed of woody
scales, each one of which has one or two seeds at its
base.
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4. (Zool.) A shell of the genus {Conus}, having a conical
form.
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{Cone of rays} (Opt.), the pencil of rays of light which
proceed from a radiant point to a given surface, as that
of a lens, or conversely.
{Cone pulley}. See in the Vocabulary.
{Oblique cone} or {Scalene cone}, a cone of which the axis is
inclined to the plane of its base.
{Eight cone}. See {Cone}, 1.
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