Word of the Day: Ellipse

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- Ellipse -

pronounced [ih-lips]

noun Geometry .

a plane curve such that the sums of the distances of each point in its periphery from two fixed points, the foci, are equal. It is a conic section formed by the intersection of a right circular cone by a plane that cuts the axis and the surface of the cone. Typical equation: ( x ² / a ² ) + ( y ² / b ² ) = 1. If a = b the ellipse is a circle.

Origin

1656 (implied in ellpitical), from Fr. ellipse, from L. ellipsis "ellipse," also, "a falling short, deficit," from Gk. elleipsis (see ellipse), because the conic section of the cutting plane makes a smaller angle with the base than does the side of the cone, hence, a "falling

short." First applied by Apollonius of Perga (3c. B.C.E.).

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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ellipse

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