01 n. The act of squaring; the finding of a square having the same area as some given curvilinear figure; as, the quadrature of a circle; the ope…
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1.
The act of squaring; the finding of a square having the same area as some given curvilinear figure; as, the quadrature of a circle; the operation of finding an expression for the area of a figure bounded wholly or in part by a curved line, as by a curve, two ordinates, and the axis of abscissas.(Math.)
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2.
A quadrate; a square.
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3.
The integral used in obtaining the area bounded by a curve; hence, the definite integral of the product of any function of one variable into the differential of that variable.(Integral Calculus)
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4.
The position of one heavenly body in respect to another when distant from it 90°, or a quarter of a circle, as the moon when at an equal distance from the points of conjunction and opposition.(Astron.)
Phrases & compounds
Quadrature of the moon —
the position of the moon when one half of the disk is illuminated.
Quadrature of an orbit —
a point in an orbit which is at either extremity of the latus rectum drawn through the empty focus of the orbit.