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Elliptical   /ɪlˈɪptɪkəl/   Listen
adjective
Elliptical, Elliptic  adj.  
1.
Of or pertaining to an ellipse; having the form of an ellipse; oblong, with rounded ends. "The planets move in elliptic orbits." "The billiard sharp who any one catches, His doom's extremely hard He's made to dwell In a dungeon cell On a spot that's always barred. And there he plays extravagant matches In fitless finger-stalls On a cloth untrue With a twisted cue And elliptical billiard balls!"
2.
Having a part omitted; as, an elliptical phrase.
3.
Leaving out information essential to comprehension; so concise as to be difficult to understand; obscure or ambiguous; of speech or writing; as, an elliptical comment.
Elliptic chuck. See under Chuck.
Elliptic compasses, an instrument arranged for drawing ellipses.
Elliptic function. (Math.) See Function.
Elliptic integral. (Math.) See Integral.
Elliptic polarization. See under Polarization.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Elliptical" Quotes from Famous Books



... time has it coalesced or been joined to any belt in its proximity, as has been alleged by some observers. During the year 1885 the middle of the spot was very much paler in colour than the margins, causing it to appear as an elliptical ring. The ring form has continued up to the present time. While the outline of the spot has remained very constant, the colour has changed materially from year to year. During the past three years (1884-'86) it has at times been very faint, ...
— A Journey in Other Worlds - A Romance of the Future • John Jacob Astor

... magnificent scene ever witnessed in the United States. Castle-garden lies at a very short distance from Battery-street, which is a spacious and elegant promenade, on the south westerly part of the city. It was formerly a fort, and is about one hundred and seventy feet in diameter, of a circular or elliptical form. It has lately become a place of great resort in the warm season of the year. Everything which labor and expence, art and taste could effect was done to render it convenient, showy and elegant. An awning covered ...
— Memoirs of General Lafayette • Lafayette

... box with three compartments,—for betel-nut, buyo-leaf, and calcined shell,—cast in brass or bell-metal from a wax mould. This type has rectangular surfaces, and is to be distinguished from the kapulan, a type marked by its circular, or elliptical, ...
— Philippine Folk-Tales • Clara Kern Bayliss, Berton L. Maxfield, W. H. Millington,

... number travel in long elliptical or parabolic orbits round the sun at great velocities. They seem to consist partly of glowing vapours, especially hydrogen, and partly of meteoric stones. 'Shooting stars,' that is to say, stones which fall to the earth, are known to swarm in their wake, and are believed to ...
— A Trip to Venus • John Munro

... elliptical. Thus, it was common to add at the end of the letter something like, "I leave it to you to decide." This might be put, "As the king, my lord, sees fit, let him do." But a scribe would often merely say, "As the king sees fit." Such elliptical sentences are often very difficult to complete. ...
— Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters • C. H. W. Johns


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