Ellipse

3 definitions found

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

  Ellipse \El*lipse"\ ([e^]l*l[i^]ps"), n. [Gr. 'e`lleipsis,
     prop., a defect, the inclination of the ellipse to the base
     of the cone being in defect when compared with that of the
     side to the base: cf. F. ellipse. See {Ellipsis}.]
     1. (Geom.) An oval or oblong figure, bounded by a regular
        curve, which corresponds to an oblique projection of a


        circle, or an oblique section of a cone through its
        opposite sides. The greatest diameter of the ellipse is
        the major axis, and the least diameter is the minor axis.
        See {Conic section}, under {Conic}, and cf. {Focus}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Gram.) Omission. See {Ellipsis}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The elliptical orbit of a planet.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The Sun flies forward to his brother Sun;
              The dark Earth follows wheeled in her ellipse.
                                                    --Tennyson.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ellipse
       n : a closed plane curve resulting from the intersection of a
           circular cone and a plane cutting completely through it;
           "the sums of the distances from the foci to any point on
           an ellipse is constant" [syn: {oval}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  21 Moby Thesaurus words for "ellipse":
     arc, bow, catacaustic, catenary, caustic, circle, conchoid, crook,
     curl, curve, diacaustic, festoon, hook, hyperbola, lituus, oval,
     ovoid, ovule, parabola, sinus, tracery