Part 672

El*lag"ic (?), a. [F., fr. galle gall (with the letters reversed).] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, gallnuts or gallic acid; as, ellagic acid.

Ellagic acid (Chem.), a white crystalline substance, C14H8O9, found in bezoar stones, and obtained by the oxidation of gallic acid.

El"le*bore (?), n. Hellebore. [Obs.] Chaucer.

El*leb"o*rin (?), n. See Helleborin.

El"leck (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoöl.) The red gurnard or cuckoo fish. [Prov. Eng.]

{El"lenge (?), El"linge (?), a., El"lenge*ness, El"linge*ness, n }. See Elenge, Elengeness. [Obs.]

El"les (?), adv. & conj. See Else. [Obs.]

El*lipse" (l*lps"), 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.

El*lip"sis (l*lp"ss), n.; pl. Ellipses (- sz). [L., fr. Gr. 'e`lleipsis a leaving, defect, fr. 'ellei`pein to leave in, fall short; 'en in + lei`pein to leave. See In, and Loan, and cf. Ellipse.] 1. (Gram.) Omission; a figure of syntax, by which one or more words, which are obviously understood, are omitted; as, the virtues I admire, for, the virtues which I admire.

2. (Geom.) An ellipse. [Obs.]

El*lip"so*graph (?), n. [Ellipse + graph: cf. F. ellipsographe.] An instrument for describing ellipses; -- called also trammel.

El*lip"soid (?), n. [Ellipse + -oid: cf. F. ellipsoide.] (Geom.) A solid, all plane sections of which are ellipses or circles. See Conoid, n., 2 (a).

The ellipsoid has three principal plane sections, a, b, and c, each at right angles to the other two, and each dividing the solid into two equal and symmetrical parts. The lines of meeting of these principal sections are the axes, or principal diameters of the ellipsoid. The point where the three planes meet is the center.

Ellipsoid of revolution, a spheroid; a solid figure generated by the revolution of an ellipse about one of its axes. It is called a prolate spheroid, or prolatum, when the ellipse is revolved about the major axis, and an oblate spheroid, or oblatum, when it is revolved about the minor axis.

{ El*lip"soid (?), El`lip*soi"dal (?), } a. Pertaining to, or shaped like, an ellipsoid; as, ellipsoid or ellipsoidal form.

{ El*lip"tic (?), El*lip"tic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. elliptique. See Ellipsis.] 1. Of or pertaining to an ellipse; having the form of an ellipse; oblong, with rounded ends.

The planets move in elliptic orbits.

Cheyne.

2. Having a part omitted; as, an elliptical phrase.

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.

El*lip"tic*al*ly, adv. 1. In the form of an ellipse.

2. With a part omitted; as, elliptically expressed.

El`lip*tic"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. ellipticité.] Deviation of an ellipse or a spheroid from the form of a circle or a sphere; especially, in reference to the figure of the earth, the difference between the equatorial and polar semidiameters, divided by the equatorial; thus, the ellipticity of the earth is .

Some writers use ellipticity as the ratio of the difference of the two semiaxes to the minor axis, instead of the major. Nichol.