El*lipse" (&ebreve;l*l&ibreve;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.
2. (Gram.) Omission. See Ellipsis.
3.
The elliptical orbit of a planet.
The Sun flies forward to his brother Sun;
The dark Earth follows wheeled in her ellipse.
Tennyson.
Hear it pronounced