Ellipsoid - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: Ellipsoid

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

el·lip·soid

Audio Help [i-lip-soid] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	Geometry. a solid figure all plane sections of which are ellipses or circles. Typical equation: (x²/a²) + (y²/b²) + (z²/c²) = 1.

–adjective

2.	ellipsoidal.

[Origin: 1715–25; < F ellipsoïde. See ellipse, -oid

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Ellipsoid

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

el·lip·soid Audio Help (ĭ-lĭp'soid') Pronunciation Key

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n. A geometric surface, all of whose plane sections are either ellipses or circles.

el·lip'soid', el·lip'soi'dal (ĭ-lĭp'soid'l, ěl'ĭp-, ē'lĭp-) adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

ellipsoid
adjective
1.	having the nature or shape of an ellipsoid
noun
1.	a surface whose plane sections are all ellipses or circles; "the Earth is an ellipsoid"

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ellipsoid Audio Help (ĭ-lĭp'soid') Pronunciation Key
A three-dimensional geometric figure resembling a flattened sphere. Any cross section of an ellipsoid is an ellipse or circle. An ellipsoid is generated by rotating an ellipse around one of its axes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ellipsoid

Co"noid\, n. [Gr. ? conical; ? cone + ? from: cf. F. cono["i]de.]

1. Anything that has a form resembling that of a cone.

2. (Geom.) (a) A solid formed by the revolution of a conic section about its axis; as, a parabolic conoid, elliptic conoid, etc.; -- more commonly called paraboloid, ellipsoid, etc. (b) A surface which may be generated by a straight line moving in such a manner as always to meet a given straight line and a given curve, and continue parallel to a given plane. --Math. Dict.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ellipsoid

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) .

Note: 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.

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