| flattened at the poles, as a spheroid generated by the revolution of an ellipse about its shorter axis (opposed to prolate ). |
oblate
(from Latin oblatus, "one offered up"), in Roman Catholicism, a lay person connected with a religious order or institution and living according to its regulations; a minor dedicated by his parents to become a monk according to the Benedictine Rule; or a member of either the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) or the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.)
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