Having admitted that the projectile was describing an orbit around the moon, this orbit must necessarily be elliptical; science proves that it must be so.
If he is sometimes elliptical and obscure, it is because he has so much to tell us.
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elliptical — index brief Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
elliptical — 1650s, “elliptic in shape;” see ELLIPTIC (Cf. elliptic) + AL (Cf. al) (1). Grammatical sense of “missing essential words or phrases” is recorded from 1778 (see ELLIPSIS (Cf. ellipsis)). Related: Elliptically … Etymology dictionary
elliptical — [adj] oval shaped egg shaped, ellipsoidal, oblong, ovoid; concept 486 … New thesaurus
elliptical — ► ADJECTIVE 1) another term for ELLIPTIC(Cf. ↑ellipticity). 2) (of speech or text) using or involving ellipsis, especially so as to be difficult to understand. DERIVATIVES elliptically adverb … English terms dictionary
elliptical — [e lip′ti kəl, ilip′ti kəl] adj. [< Gr elleiptikos (see ELLIPSE) + AL] 1. of, or having the form of, an ellipse, as some leaves: see LEAF 2. of or characterized by ellipsis; with a word or words omitted, with obscure, incomplete constructions … English World dictionary
elliptical — [[t]ɪlɪ̱ptɪk(ə)l[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED Something that is elliptical has the shape of an ellipse. [FORMAL] ...the moon s elliptical orbit... The stadium is elliptical in plan. 2) ADJ GRADED Elliptical references to something are indirect rather than… … English dictionary
Elliptical — Elliptic El*lip tic, Elliptical 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. [1913 Webster] The planets move in elliptic orbits. Cheyne … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
elliptical — ellipticalness, n. /i lip ti keuhl/, adj. Also, elliptic. 1. pertaining to or having the form of an ellipse. 2. pertaining to or marked by grammatical ellipsis. 3. (of speech or writing) expressed with extreme or excessive economy; relieved of… … Universalium
elliptical — el|lip|ti|cal [ıˈlıptıkəl] adj also el|lip|tic [ tık] [Date: 1600 1700; : Greek; Origin: elleiptikos, from elleipein; ELLIPSIS] 1.) having the shape of an ellipse ▪ Kepler published his discovery of the elliptical orbits of planets in 1609. 2.)… … Dictionary of contemporary English
elliptical — also el.lip.tic adjective 1 having the shape of an ellipse: The earth s orbit is elliptical. 2 elliptical speech or writing is difficult to understand because more is meant than is actually said: an elliptical remark … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
