ellipsis

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“
Not that Rhetoric is in bondage to those other sciences; for foreign idioms and such figures as the ellipsis, the anacoluthon, the oxymoron, the hyperbole, and violent inversions have their place in the magnificent style; but authors unacquainted with Grammar and Logic are not likely to place such figures well and wisely.

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding.
  2. noun An example of such omission.
  3. noun A mark or series of marks ( . . . or * * * , for example) used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • The double dash and the ellipsis are often mistakenly thought to be interchangeable. —  Daring Fireball
  • Hi, this ellipsis is very interesting (but I'm biased, since I've written a phd thesis about this kind of stuff). —  Literal-Minded
  • The ellipsis is for trailing off ... so if you trail off all of your sentences ... me the reader finds you weak. —  Blog updates
  • -0 / +3And using ellipsis (that's the three dots) doesn't make a post any ... cooler. —  Original Signal - Transmitting Digg
  • (_M. Footnote 214: This participle has a masculine termination; and the ellipsis is supplied from the Commentator Footnote 215: This is rather the paraphrase of the Commentator: the text is very obscure. —  Hindu Law and Judicature from the Dharma-Sástra of Yájnavalkya
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin ellīpsis, from Greek elleipsis, from elleipein, to fall short; see ellipse.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = D. Swedish ellips = G. Danish ellipse = French ellipse = Spanish elipsis = Portuguese ellipse = Italian ellisse, elisse, from Latinellipsis, from Gr.ἐλλειψις, omission, ellipsis: see ellipse.
 

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/ɛˈlɪpsɪs/
by American Heritage

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