elliptical
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From elliptic + -al, from Ancient Greek ἐλλειπτικός (elleiptikós), from ἐλλείπω (elleípō, “I leave out, omit”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]elliptical (comparative more elliptical, superlative most elliptical)
- In a shape of, or reminding of, an ellipse; oval.
- 1876, “Chapter XIX”, in Edward Roth, transl., All Around the Moon:
- Having admitted that the projectile was describing an orbit around the moon, this orbit must necessarily be elliptical; science proves that it must be so.
- Of, or showing ellipsis; having a word or words omitted.
- 1940, Edmund Wilson, To the Finland Station:
- If he is sometimes elliptical and obscure, it is because he has so much to tell us.
- (of speech) Concise, condensed.
- 1903, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, “Chapter VI”, in Robert Browning:
- Browning's dark and elliptical mode of speech, like his love of the grotesque, was simply a characteristic of his, a trick of his temperament, and had little or nothing to do with whether what he was expressing was profound or superficial.
- early 20th century, O. Henry, The Making of a New Yorker:
- He was called a tramp; but that was only an elliptical way of saying that he was a philosopher, an artist, a traveller, a naturalist and a discoverer.
- (mathematics, rare) Elliptic.
Usage notes
[edit]- In botanical usage, elliptic(al) refers only to the general shape of the object (usually a leaf), independently of its apex or margin (and sometimes the base), so that an "elliptic leaf" may very well be pointed at both ends. A three-dimensional elliptical object is ellipsoid, while an object that is not a perfectly stretched circle is ovoid or obovoid.
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]oval
|
showing ellipsis
|
concise, condensed
in math — see elliptic
Noun
[edit]elliptical (plural ellipticals)
- (astronomy) An elliptical galaxy.
- An elliptical trainer.
Translations
[edit]elliptical galaxy — see elliptical galaxy
elliptical trainer — see cross-trainer
Categories:
- English terms suffixed with -al
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- en:Mathematics
- English terms with rare senses
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Astronomy
- en:Exercise equipment