1. The act of curving or the state of being curved. 2.Mathematicsa. The ratio of the change in the angle of a tangent that moves over a given arc to the length of the arc. b. The limit of this ratio as the length of the arc approaches zero. c. The reciprocal of the radius of a circle. 3.Medicine A curving or bending, especially an abnormal one: curvature of the spine.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Latin curvtra, from curvtus, past participle of curvre, to bend, from curvus, curved. See sker-2 in Appendix I.
kûr
v
-ch
r
, -ch
t
ra, from curv
