A parabola obtained as the intersection of a cone with a plane parallel to a straight line on its surface
A parabola is a type of curve. Menaechmus (380–320 BC) discovered the parabola, and Apollonius of Perga (262 BC–c190 BC) first named it.
A parabola is a conic section. If a cone is cut by a plane which is parallel to one of the surfaces of the cone, the result is a parabola.