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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Curvature \Cur"va*ture\ (k?r"v?-t?r; 135), noun [L. curvatura. See {Curvate}.]
1. The act of curving, or the state of being bent or curved; a curving or bending, normal or abnormal, as of a line or surface from a rectilinear direction; a bend; a curve. --Cowper.
The elegant curvature of their fronds. --Darwin.
2. (Math.) The amount of degree of bending of a mathematical curve, or the tendency at any point to depart from a tangent drawn to the curve at that point.
{Aberrancy of curvature} (Geom.), the deviation of a curve from a circular form.
{Absolute curvature}. See under {Absolute}.
{Angle of curvature} (Geom.), one that expresses the amount of curvature of a curve.
{Chord of curvature}. See under {Chord}.
{Circle of curvature}. See {Osculating circle of a curve}, under {Circle}.
{Curvature of the spine} (Med.), an abnormal curving of the spine, especially in a lateral direction.
{Radius of curvature}, the radius of the circle of curvature, or osculatory circle, at any point of a curve.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
curvature
noun
1: (medicine) a curving or bending; often abnormal; "curvature of the spine"
2: the rate of change (at a point) of the angle between a curve and a tangent to the curve
3: the property possessed by the curving of a line or surface [syn: {curve}]
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