Cone \Cone\, n. [L. conus cone (in sense 1), Gr. ?; 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.
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.
Now had Night measured with her shadowy cone Half
way up hill this vast sublunar vault. --Milton.
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.
4. (Zo["o]l.) A shell of the genus Conus, having a conical
form.
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 or Scalene cone, a cone of which the axis is
inclined to the plane of its base.
Eight cone. See Cone, 1.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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