Ellipsoid
/ɪˈlɪp.sɔɪd/noun
A three-dimensional shape like a stretched or flattened sphere.
Did you know?The word was coined in modern scientific Latin from Greek roots, and its family tree traces back to a word for “deficiency” or “falling short,” because an ellipse is what you get when a circle is cut off.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
elleipsis
“a falling short, omission, or deficiency”
Latin
Latin
ellipsis
“an omission; later adopted in geometry for the curve”
18th Century
New Latin
ellipsoides
“ellipse-shaped; a solid having the form of an ellipse rotated in 3D”
18th Century
English
ellipsoid
“a solid figure shaped like an ellipse rotated about an axis”
Modern English
English
ellipsoid
“a three-dimensional shape resembling a stretched or flattened sphere”