English Explanatory Dictionary

ellipsis

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A mark consisting of multiple full stops (with or without spaces), used to indicate omitted, missing, or illegible words; or (in mathematics) that a pattern continues.
  2. The omission of a word or phrase that can be inferred from the context.
  3. The omission of scenes in a film that do not advance the plot.
  4. An ellipse.

Pronunciation

/ɪˈlɪp.sɪs/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-ellipsis.wav

Word forms

ellipsis ellipses

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin ellīpsis, from Ancient Greek ἔλλειψις (élleipsis, “omission”). Doublet of ellipse.

Synonyms

dot dot dot suspension dots suspension points

Related words

elliptical elliptically eclipsis ecthlipsis apostrophe curly brackets brace square bracket bracket colon comma dash exclamation mark fraction slash guillemet hyphen interpunct interrobang parentheses (US Canada) full stop period question mark quotation marks semicolon slash stroke space

Derived words

ellipsism ellipsization vertical ellipsis
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