ellipsis means 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.
ellipsis is pronounced /ɪˈlɪp.sɪs/.
Why “ellipsis” is a great word
A punctuation mark (…) indicating an omission of words or a pause, or the grammatical omission of words that are understood from the context. From Latin ellīpsis, from Ancient Greek ἔλλειψις (élleipsis, “omission, falling short”), from ἐλλείπειν (elleípein, “to leave out, fall short”). Unlike "ellipse" (which denotes an oval geometric shape) or "dash" (which signals a sudden break or interruption), ellipsis is the art of what is deliberately unfinished. It is the visual sigh in a confessional letter where words fail, the calculated lacuna in a political statement, or the three trailing dots on a screen that hold the unbearable weight of a reply forever pending—the quiet admission that language, like memory, is always leaving something out.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Latin ellīpsis, from Ancient Greek ἔλλειψις (élleipsis, “omission”). Doublet of ellipse.
noun
- 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.“The ellipsis in 1, 2, 3, ..., 8, 9 means that the numbers 4, 5, 6, and 7 are not explicitly included, but are considered to be part of the pattern.”
- The omission of a word or phrase that can be inferred from the context.
- The omission of scenes in a film that do not advance the plot.“It was now possible for writers and directors to cut scenes that did not further the plot; called "ellipses" by filmmakers.”
- An ellipse.
Words closest in meaning
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