ellipsis

ellipsis
/i lip"sis/, n., pl. ellipses /-seez/.
1. Gram.
a. the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction, as the omission of who are, while I am, or while we are from I like to interview people sitting down.
b. the omission of one or more items from a construction in order to avoid repeating the identical or equivalent items that are in a preceding or following construction, as the omission of been to Paris from the second clause of I've been to Paris, but they haven't.
2. Print. a mark or marks as - - , ... , or * * *, to indicate an omission or suppression of letters or words.
[1560-70; < L ellipsis < Gk élleipsis an omission, equiv. to el- (var. of en- EN-2) + leip- (s. of leípein to leave) + -sis -SIS]

* * *

also called  ellipse 

      figure of speech characterized by the deliberate omission of a word or words that are, however, understood in light of the grammatical context. The device is exemplified in W.H. Auden (Auden, W H)'s poem “This Lunar Beauty”:

But this was never
A ghost's endeavor
Nor finished this,
Was ghost at ease;
And till it pass
Love shall not near
The sweetness here
Nor sorrow take
His endless look.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

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  • ellipsis — 1. meaning. Ellipsis is the omission from a sentence of words which are normally needed to complete the grammatical construction or meaning. It occurs most often in everyday speech, in expressions such as Told you so (= I told you so) and Sounds… …   Modern English usage

  • ellipsis — 1560s, an ellipse, from L. ellipsis, from Gk. elleipsis a falling short, defect, ellipse, from elleipein to fall short, leave out, from en in + leipein to leave (see RELINQUISH (Cf. relinquish)). Grammatical sense first recorded 1610s …   Etymology dictionary

  • ellipsis — [e lip′sis, ilip′sis] n. pl. ellipses [i lip′sēz΄, ə lip′sēz΄] [L < Gr elleipsis: see ELLIPSE] 1. Gram. the omission of a word or words necessary for complete grammatical construction but understood in the context (Ex.: “if possible” for “if… …   English World dictionary

  • Ellipsis — El*lip sis ([e^]l*l[i^]p s[i^]s), n.; pl. {Ellipses} ([e^]l*l[i^]p s[=e]z). [L., fr. Gr. e lleipsis a leaving, defect, fr. ellei pein to leave in, fall short; en in + lei pein to leave. See {In}, and {Loan}, and cf. {Ellipse}.] 1. (Gram.)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ellipsis — ► NOUN (pl. ellipses) 1) the omission of words from speech or writing. 2) a set of dots indicating such an omission. ORIGIN Greek elleipsis, from elleipein leave out …   English terms dictionary

  • Ellipsis — For other uses, see Ellipsis (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Ellipse. … Ellipsis …   Wikipedia

  • ellipsis —  An ellipsis (sometimes called an ellipse) is used to indicate that material has been omitted. It consists of three evenly spaced periods (...) and not, as some writers think, a random scattering of them. When an ellipsis occurs at the end of a… …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • ellipsis —    An ellipsis (sometimes called an ellipse) is used to indicate that material has been omitted. It consists of three periods (...) and not, as some writers think, a random scattering of them. When an ellipsis occurs at the end of a sentence, a… …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • ellipsis — UK [ɪˈlɪpsɪs] / US noun [uncountable] Word forms ellipsis : singular ellipsis plural ellipses UK [ɪˈlɪpsiːz] / US [ɪˈlɪpˌsɪz] linguistics the practice of leaving a word or words out of a sentence when they are not necessary for understanding it …   English dictionary

  • ellipsis — el•lip•sis [[t]ɪˈlɪp sɪs[/t]] n. pl. ses ( sēz). 1) oce gram. gram. the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words understandable from the context that would complete or clarify the construction, as the omission of been… …   From formal English to slang

  • ellipsis — noun (plural ellipses) Etymology: Latin, from Greek elleipsis ellipsis, ellipse, from elleipein to leave out, fall short, from en in + leipein to leave more at in, loan Date: 1540 1. a. the omission of one or more words that are obviously… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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