[i-lip-ti-kuh
l] 
| 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 irrelevant matter: to converse in elliptical sentences. |
| 4. | (of a style of speaking or writing) tending to be ambiguous, cryptic, or obscure: an elliptical prose that is difficult to translate. |
| 5. | Astronomy. elliptical galaxy. |
| a type of galaxy having the shape of a spheroid or ellipsoid, rather than a disk. |
| el·lip·tic (ĭ-lĭp'tĭk) adj.
[New Latin ellīpticus, from Greek elleiptikos, defective, from elleipsis, a falling short, ellipsis; see ellipsis.] el·lip'ti·cal·ly adv. |