ellipsoid








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

  1. ellipsoidal.

noun

    1. a geometric surface, symmetrical about the three coordinate axes, whose plane sections are ellipses or circles. Standard equation: x ²/ a ² + y ²/ b ² + z ²/ c ² = 1, where ± a, ± b, ± c are the intercepts on the x-, y-, and z- axes
    2. a solid having this shapethe earth is an ellipsoid
n.

1721; see ellipse + -oid. From 1861 as an adjective (earlier adjective was ellipsoidal).

  1. 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.
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