ellipse
The definition of an ellipse is a path taken or a shape that results when a flat plane intersects a cone in a direction which is not parallel to the base of the cone.
(noun)An example of an ellipse are the rings of Saturn.
See ellipse in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun pl. ellipses
Origin: ModL ellipsis < Gr elleipsis, a defect, ellipse < elleipein, to fall short < en-, in + leipein, to leave (see loan): so named from falling short of a perfect circle
See ellipse in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- A plane curve, especially:a. A conic section whose plane is not parallel to the axis, base, or generatrix of the intersected cone.b. The locus of points for which the sum of the distances from each point to two fixed points is equal.
- Ellipsis.
Origin:
Origin: French
Origin: , from Latin ellīpsis
Origin: , from Greek elleipsis, a falling short, ellipse
Origin: , from elleipein, to fall short (from the relationship between the line joining the vertices of a conic and the line through the focus and parallel to the directrix of a conic)
Origin: : en-, in; see en-2
Origin: + leipein, to leave; see leikw- in Indo-European roots
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ellipse
The line running through the foci (F and F1) of an ellipse is the major axis. The vertices (V and V1) mark where the major axis intersects the ellipse. The midpoint between the vertices is the center; the line that runs vertically through the center is the minor axis.
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