elliptical

elliptical
ellipticalness, n.
/i lip"ti keuhl/, adj. Also, elliptic.
1. pertaining to or having the form of an ellipse.
2. pertaining to or marked by grammatical ellipsis.
3. (of speech or writing) expressed with extreme or excessive economy; relieved of irrelevant matter: to converse in elliptical sentences.
4. (of a style of speaking or writing) tending to be ambiguous, cryptic, or obscure: an elliptical prose that is difficult to translate.
n.
5. Astron. See elliptical galaxy.
[1650-60; < Gk elleiptik(ós) defective (see ELLIPSIS, -TIC) + -AL1]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • elliptical — index brief Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • elliptical — 1650s, “elliptic in shape;” see ELLIPTIC (Cf. elliptic) + AL (Cf. al) (1). Grammatical sense of “missing essential words or phrases” is recorded from 1778 (see ELLIPSIS (Cf. ellipsis)). Related: Elliptically …   Etymology dictionary

  • elliptical — [adj] oval shaped egg shaped, ellipsoidal, oblong, ovoid; concept 486 …   New thesaurus

  • elliptical — ► ADJECTIVE 1) another term for ELLIPTIC(Cf. ↑ellipticity). 2) (of speech or text) using or involving ellipsis, especially so as to be difficult to understand. DERIVATIVES elliptically adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • elliptical — [e lip′ti kəl, ilip′ti kəl] adj. [< Gr elleiptikos (see ELLIPSE) + AL] 1. of, or having the form of, an ellipse, as some leaves: see LEAF 2. of or characterized by ellipsis; with a word or words omitted, with obscure, incomplete constructions …   English World dictionary

  • elliptical — [[t]ɪlɪ̱ptɪk(ə)l[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Something that is elliptical has the shape of an ellipse. [FORMAL] ...the moon s elliptical orbit... The stadium is elliptical in plan. 2) ADJ GRADED Elliptical references to something are indirect rather than… …   English dictionary

  • Elliptical — Elliptic El*lip tic, Elliptical El*lip tic*al, a. [Gr. ?: cf. F. elliptique. See {Ellipsis}.] 1. Of or pertaining to an ellipse; having the form of an ellipse; oblong, with rounded ends. [1913 Webster] The planets move in elliptic orbits. Cheyne …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • elliptical — 1. adjective /ɪˈlɪp.tɪk.əl,ɪˈlɪp.tɪ.kəl,əˈlɪp.tɪ.kəl/ a) In a shape reminding of an ellipse; oval. Having admitted that the projectile was describing an orbit around the moon, this orbit must necessarily be elliptical; science proves that it must …   Wiktionary

  • elliptical — el|lip|ti|cal [ıˈlıptıkəl] adj also el|lip|tic [ tık] [Date: 1600 1700; : Greek; Origin: elleiptikos, from elleipein; ELLIPSIS] 1.) having the shape of an ellipse ▪ Kepler published his discovery of the elliptical orbits of planets in 1609. 2.)… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • elliptical — also el.lip.tic adjective 1 having the shape of an ellipse: The earth s orbit is elliptical. 2 elliptical speech or writing is difficult to understand because more is meant than is actually said: an elliptical remark …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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