folium

[ foh-lee-uhm ]

noun

, plural fo·li·a [foh, -lee-, uh].

1. a thin leaflike stratum or layer; a lamella.
2. Geometry. a loop; part of a curve terminated at both ends by the same node. Equation: x 3 + y 3 = 3 axy.

folium

/ ˈfəʊlɪəm /

noun

1. a plane geometrical curve consisting of a loop whose two ends, intersecting at a node, are asymptotic to the same line. Standard equation: x ³ + y ³=3a xy where x = y +a is the equation of the line
2. any thin leaflike layer, esp of some metamorphic rocks

folium

/ fō′lē-əm /

, Plural folia

1. A thin, leaflike layer or stratum occurring especially in metamorphic rock.
2. A plane cubic curve having a single loop, a node, and two ends asymptotic to the same line.
3. Also called folium of Descartes

Word History and Origins

Origin of folium¹

1840–50; < New Latin, Latin: literally, a leaf

Word History and Origins

Origin of folium¹

C19: from Latin, literally: leaf

Example Sentences

Look with insight into a small corner of the musical past, we learn from Savall, and history itself is folia writ large.

From Los Angeles Times

On my way to something else on YouTube, I happened on a word that invariably stops me dead: “folia,” meaning “madness” in several languages.

From New York Times

The host fungus for Liparis lilii­folia wasn’t common in the wild, but the orchid would germinate if the fungus was added.

From Scientific American

When the bands of folia are very fine and tortuous the structure is called helizitic.

From Project Gutenberg

Of these, among the earliest to present themselves are usually the micas, that impart their characteristic silvery sheen to the surfaces of the folia along which they spread.

From Project Gutenberg