geodesic line

noun

1. the shortest line lying on a given surface and connecting two given points.

Word History and Origins

Origin of geodesic line¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

In three-dimensional space a geodesic line is by definition the path along which a light ray would propagate.

From Scientific American

It would, of course, be wrong to say that the orbits themselves are geodesic lines in three-dimensional space.

From Scientific American

Mathematicians call such lines geodesic lines, or simply geodesics.

From Scientific American