trajectory
/tɹəˈd͡ʒɛktəɹi/ noun
Forms trajectories
- noun The path an object takes as it moves.
- noun (astronomy, space science) The path of a body as it travels through space.
- noun (cybernetics) The ordered set of intermediate states assumed by a dynamical system as a result of time evolution.
- noun (figuratively) A course of development, such as that of a war or career.
Synonyms
Etymology
From New Latin trāiectōria f (“trajectory”) (used by Newton), the feminine of trāiectōrius (“of or pertaining to throwing across”), from Latin trāiectus (“thrown over or across”), past participle of trāiciō, from trans- (“across, beyond”) (see trans-) + iaciō (“to throw”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- (“to throw, impel”)). Middle French and Middle English had trajectorie (“end of a funnel”), from Latin trāiectōrium.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The curve which a body describes in space, as a planet or comet in its orbit, or stone thrown upward obliquely in the air.
Etymology [Cf. F. trajectoire.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “trajectory”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details