ellipsoid

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Etymology

From ellipse + -oid.

Pronunciation

• (British) IPA: /ɪˈlɪp.sɔɪd/
• (America) IPA: /ɪˈlɪp.sɔɪd/, /əˈlɪp.sɔɪd/, /iˈlɪp.sɔɪd/
• (Australia) IPA: /əˈlɪp.soɪd/, /ɪˈlɪp.soɪd/

Noun

ellipsoid (plural ellipsoids)

1. (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.
2. (geography) Such a surface used as a model of the shape of the earth.

   Here the geoid is thirty meters below the ellipsoid.

Related terms

• ellipsoidal
• subellipsoid

Translations

• French: ellipsoïde
• German: Ellipsoid, Ellipsoide
• Russian: эллипсо́ид
• Spanish: elipsoide

Adjective

ellipsoid

1. Shaped like an ellipse; elliptical.
2. (mathematics) Of or pertaining to an ellipse; elliptic.
3. (botany) Having the tridimensional shape of an ellipse rotated on its long axis.

Related terms

• ellipsoidal
• globoid
• ovoid

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