ellipsis
noun/ɪˈlɪp.sɪs/
Etymology Unadapted borrowing from Latin ellīpsis, from Ancient Greek ἔλλειψις (élleipsis, “omission”). Doublet of ellipse.
1
Mathematics, Media, Publishing, Sciences, Typography A mark consisting of multiple full stops (with or without spaces), used to indicate omitted, missing, or illegible words; or (in mathematics) that a pattern continues.
- The ellipsis in 1, 2, 3, ..., 8, 9 means that the numbers 4, 5, 6, and 7 are not explicitly included, but are considered to be part of the pattern.
- The ellipsis in 0.333... means that the number is a repeating decimal, having threes that go on forever.
1 more example
- CARD: Hey Baby. Thanks for the … last night. Love you! HAZEL: Wow. I've never despised an ellipsis so much in my life.2006, Danielle Corsetto, Girls with Slingshots: 114:
2
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Rhetoric The omission of a word or phrase that can be inferred from the context.
3
Broadcasting, Film, Media, Television The omission of scenes in a film that do not advance the plot.
- It was now possible for writers and directors to cut scenes that did not further the plot; called "ellipses" by filmmakers.2002, David Blanke, The 1910s: 219:
4
Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences Obsolete An ellipse.
- Derived terms
- ellipsism, ellipsization, vertical ellipsis
- Related terms
28 terms
elliptical, elliptically, eclipsis, ecthlipsis, apostrophe, curly brackets, brace, square bracket, bracket, colon, comma, dash, exclamation mark, fraction slash, guillemet, hyphen, interpunct, interrobang, parentheses (US, Canada), full stop, period, question mark, quotation marks, semicolon, slash, stroke, space