ellipse
ellipse Lexical Profile
ellipse Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A regular oval shape or closed plane curve generated by a point moving in such a way that the sum of its distances from two fixed points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut obliquely by a plane that does not intersect the base.
"Johannes Kepler discovered that the orbit of Mars around the Sun is an ellipse rather than a perfect circle."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'ellipse' (a geometric oval shape) with 'ellipsis' (the omission of words in speech or writing, or the punctuation mark '...' indicating such an omission), though both share the plural form 'ellipses'.
• Rhymes for ellipse
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via French from Latin ellipsis, from Ancient Greek ἔλλειψις (élleipsis, 'a falling short, defect'), named by Apollonius of Perga because the cutting plane of the cone has a smaller angle with the base than the side of the cone.