Main Entry: ¹cone

Pronunciation: \ˈkōn\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin conus, from Greek kōnos

Date: 1545

1 a : a solid generated by rotating a right triangle about one of its legs —called also right circular cone b : a solid bounded by a circular or other closed plane base and the surface formed by line segments joining every point of the boundary of the base to a common vertex — see volume table c : a surface traced by a moving straight line passing through a fixed vertex
2 a : a mass of ovule-bearing or pollen-bearing scales or bracts in most conifers or in cycads that are arranged usually on a somewhat elongated axis b : any of several flower or fruit clusters suggesting a cone
3 : something that resembles a cone in shape: as a : any of the conical photosensitive receptor cells of the vertebrate retina that function in color vision — compare rod 3 b : any of a family (Conidae) of tropical marine gastropod mollusks that inject their prey with a potent toxin c : the apex of a volcano d : a crisp usually cone-shaped wafer for holding ice cream

[cone illustration]