ellipsoid
/ɪˈlɪp.sɔɪd/ noun, adjective
Forms ellipsoids
- noun (mathematics, geometry) A surface, all of whose cross sections are elliptic or circular (including the sphere), that generalises the ellipse and in Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) is a quadric with equation x²/a² + y²/b² + z²/c² = 1.
- noun (geography) Such a surface used as a model of the shape of the earth. “Here the geoid is thirty meters below the ellipsoid.”
- adjective Shaped like an ellipse; elliptical.
- adjective (mathematics) Of or pertaining to an ellipse; elliptic.
- adjective (botany) Having the tridimensional shape of an ellipse rotated on its long axis.
Synonyms
Etymology
Ellipse + -oid: cf. F. ellipsoide.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A solid, all plane sections of which are ellipses or circles.
- adjective Pertaining to, or shaped like, an ellipsoid; as, ellipsoid or ellipsoidal form.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ellipsoid”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details