Eccentricities

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Eccentricity \Ec`cen*tric"i*ty\, n.; pl. {Eccentricities}. [Cf.
     F. excentricit['e].]
     1. The state of being eccentric; deviation from the customary
        line of conduct; oddity.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. (Math.) The ratio of the distance between the center and
        the focus of an ellipse or hyperbola to its
        semi-transverse axis.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Astron.) The ratio of the distance of the center of the
        orbit of a heavenly body from the center of the body round
        which it revolves to the semi-transverse axis of the
        orbit.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Mech.) The distance of the center of figure of a body, as
        of an eccentric, from an axis about which it turns; the
        throw.
        [1913 Webster]