eccentricity Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun strange and unconventional behavior
  2. noun (geometry) a ratio describing the shape of a conic section; the ratio of the distance between the foci to the length of the major axis
    • a circle is an ellipse with zero eccentricity
  3. noun a circularity that has a different center or deviates from a circular path

WordNet

Ec`cen*tric"i*ty noun
Etymology
Cf. F. excentricité.
Wordforms
plural Eccentricities
Definitions
  1. The state of being eccentric; deviation from the customary line of conduct; oddity.
  2. (Math.) The ratio of the distance between the center and the focus of an ellipse or hyperbola to its semi-transverse axis.
  3. (Astron.) The ratio of the distance of the center of the orbit of a heavenly body from the center of the body round which it revolves to the semi-transverse axis of the orbit.
  4. (Mech.) The distance of the center of figure of a body, as of an eccentric, from an axis about which it turns; the throw.

Webster 1913