Brachystochrone

n. [ Incorrect for brachistochrone, fr. Gr. bra`chistos shortest (superl. of brachy`s short) + &unr_; 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. [ 1913 Webster ]