The Collaborative International Dictionary
Curtate \Cur"tate\ (k?r"t?t), a. [L. curtatus, p. p. of curtare to shorten, fr. curtus. See Curt.] (Astron.) Shortened or reduced; -- said of the distance of a planet from the sun or earth, as measured in the plane of the ecliptic, or the distance from the sun or earth to that point where a perpendicular, let fall from the planet upon the plane of the ecliptic, meets the ecliptic.
Curtate cycloid. (Math.) See Cycloid.
Wiktionary
a. 1 shortened, having been shortened 2 (context astronomy English) said of the distance of a planet from the sun or earth, as measured in the plane of the ecliptic, or the distance from the sun or earth to that point where a perpendicular, let fall from the planet upon the plane of the ecliptic, meets the ecliptic
Usage examples of "curtate".
It was considerably more rewarding to consider the curtate cycloid described by Mount Chimborazo if one were positioned somewhere above the South Pole, to see this portion of the surface as moving backward with respect to the orbital progression of the body.
But if you mark a point B on the circumference of the flange of a locomotive-wheel, the curve will be a curtate cycloid, as in Fig.