elliptical

English

Etymology

elliptic +‎ -al, from Ancient Greek ἐλλειπτικός (elleiptikós), from ἐλλείπω (elleípō, “I leave out, omit”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪˈlɪp.tɪk.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪˈlɪp.tɪ.kəl/, /əˈlɪp.tɪ.kəl/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

elliptical (comparative more elliptical, superlative most elliptical)

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. (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.

4. (mathematics, rare) Elliptic.

Usage notes

• 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

• elliptic

Derived terms

• semi-elliptical, semielliptical

Translations

Noun

elliptical (plural ellipticals)

1. (astronomy) An elliptical galaxy.
2. An elliptical trainer.

Translations