a. Geom. [f. Gr. σύν SYN- (alike) + κλαστός, taken in the sense ‘bent,’ f. κλᾶν to break.] Of a curved surface: Having the same kind of curvature (concave or convex) in all directions. Opposed to ANTICLASTIC.
1867. Thomson & Tait, Nat. Phil., I. I. § 128. We may divide curved surfaces into Anticlastic and Synclastic. A saddle gives a good example of the former class; a ball of the latter.
1875. P. Frost, Solid Geom. (ed. 2), I. 379. Any point of an ellipsoid is … a point … at which, if a tangent plane be drawn, the surface in the neighbourhood of the point lies entirely on one side of the tangent plane; such surfaces are called Synclastic.
