ellipsoid Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a surface whose plane sections are all ellipses or circles
    • the Earth is an ellipsoid
  2. adjective satellite having the nature or shape of an ellipsoid
    ellipsoidal; spheroidal.

WordNet

El*lip"soid noun
Etymology
Ellipse + -oid: cf. F. ellipsoide.
Definitions
  1. (Geom.) A solid, all plane sections of which are ellipses or circles. See Conoid, n., 2 (a). ✍ The ellipsoid has three principal plane sections, a, b, and c, each at right angles to the other two, and each dividing the solid into two equal and symmetrical parts. The lines of meeting of these principal sections are the axes, or principal diameters of the ellipsoid. The point where the three planes meet is the center.
El*lip"soid, El`lip*soi"dal adjective (Also<
  • Ellipsoid
  • Ellipsoidal
)
Definitions
  1. Pertaining to, or shaped like, an ellipsoid; as, ellipsoid or ellipsoidal form.

Webster 1913