elliptical
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.
- (linguistics) relating to or containing an instance of ellipsis.
- 2001, Jason Merchant, The Syntax of Silence, , page 1:
- Elliptical processes capitalize on the redundancy of certain kinds of information in certain contexts, and permit an economy of expression by omitting the linguistic structures that would otherwise be required to express this information.
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 derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂el- (grow)
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *leykʷ-
- English terms suffixed with -al (adjectival suffix)
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *h₁én
- 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
- en:Linguistics
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Astronomy
- en:Exercise equipment
