ogive

American  

[oh-jahyv, oh-jahyv] / ˈoʊ dʒaɪv, oʊˈdʒaɪv /

noun

1. Architecture.

   1. a diagonal vaulting rib.

   2. a pointed arch.

2. Statistics. the distribution curve of a frequency distribution.

3. Rocketry. the curved nose of a missile or rocket.

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ogive British  

/ ˈəʊdʒaɪv, əʊˈdʒaɪv /

noun

1. a diagonal rib or groin of a Gothic vault

2. another name for lancet arch

3. statistics a graph the ordinates of which represent cumulative frequencies of the values indicated by the corresponding abscissas

4. the conical head of a missile or rocket that protects the payload during its passage through the atmosphere

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Other Word Forms

• ogival
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of ogive

1605–15; < French, Middle French ogive, augive < Spanish aljibe < Spanish Arabic al-jibb the well

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ogive

Significantly, the cathedral is a prominent showcase of the Plantagenet Gothic style, incorporating a ceiling of rounded ogive vaults and walls with blind arcades beneath bay windows.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2021

The relentless ogive of growth fascinated Jacques Monod, the French biologist.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

It was an immense vaulted apartment, wainscoted in black oak, and lighted by three small ogive windows, looking out upon the terrace.

From The Lock and Key Library The most interesting stories of all nations: French novels by Julian Hawthorne

The author is in possession of a shell in which a longitudinal flaw was revealed in the ogive by the cutting away of a longitudinal quarter section, Fig.

From The Development of Armor-piercing Shells with Suggestions for their Improvement by Carlos de Zafra

The glass of the rosace above the ogive glowed like fiery coal in the deep carvings of a wheel of stone.

From The End of the Tether by Joseph Conrad