ellipse

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ɪˈlɪps/ UK /ɪˈlɪps/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a regular oval closed curve, a flattened circle

Each planet traces an ellipse around the sun.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a regular oval closed... oval

Word family

Derived forms ellipsoidellipsoidal

Related forms elliptic elliptical ellipsis

Etymology

From French ellipse, from Latin ellipsis, from Ancient Greek élleipsis ('a falling short, defect'), from elleípein ('to fall short, leave out'); named by Apollonius of Perga because the conic section's eccentricity falls short of that of a parabola.

élleipsis Ancient Greek elleípein Ancient Greek leípein Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# ellipse

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪˈlɪps/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪˈlɪps/

## Meanings
1. a regular oval closed curve, a flattened circle

## Examples
- Each planet traces an ellipse around the sun.

## Synonyms
- oval

## Derived Forms
- ellipsoid
- ellipsoidal

## Related Forms
- elliptic
- elliptical
- ellipsis

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: élleipsis
- Root: elleípein
- Root: leípein

## Etymology
From French ellipse, from Latin ellipsis, from Ancient Greek élleipsis ('a falling short, defect'), from elleípein ('to fall short, leave out'); named by Apollonius of Perga because the conic section's eccentricity falls short of that of a parabola.

## AI Etymology
Ellipse comes from French ellipse, from Latin ellipsis, from Ancient Greek élleipsis ('a falling short, defect'), from elleípein ('to fall short, leave out'); named by Apollonius of Perga because the conic section's eccentricity falls short of that of a parabola. The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a regular oval closed curve, a flattened circle", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as ellipsoid and ellipsoidal and related forms such as elliptic, elliptical, and ellipsis, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Ancient Greek élleipsis, Ancient Greek elleípein, and Ancient Greek leípein, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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