Definition
(grammar) the act of leaving out a word or words from a sentence deliberately, when the meaning can be understood without them.
Oxford University Press. 2022, www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/ellipsis#:~:text=%2F%C9%AA%CB%88l%C9%AApsi%CB%90z%2F,without%20themTopics%20Languagec1. Accessed 2 Sept. 2022.
Informal Definition
Ellipsis is used when a sentence can be understood without putting certain words in. For example, “John saw two hawks in the sky, and Bill saw 3.” In this sentence, ellipsis is used due to the fact that the words “three hawks” are left out, yet the sentence is still able to be understood.
Nordquist, Richard. "Ellipsis: Definition and Examples in Grammar." ThoughtCo., edited by Amanda Prahl, Dotdash Meredith, 28 Aug. 2020, www.thoughtco.com/ellipsis-grammar-and-rhetoric-1690640#:~:text=John%20saw%20two%20hawks%20in,Nordquist%2C%20Richard. Accessed 2 Sept. 2022.
Etymology
"Ellipsis" comes from Latin “ellipsis”, from Greek “elleipsis”> a falling short, defect, ellipse in grammar. Ellipsis is the noun from the action ellieipein. In Greek, it means to fall short, leave out. It was first recorded in 1610s. Ellipsis is "a figure of syntax in which a part of a sentence or phrase is used for the whole, by the omission of one or more words, leaving the full form to be understood or completed by the reader or hearer."
Harper, Douglas, editor. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, 2022, www.etymonline.com/search?q=ellipsis. Accessed 2 Sept. 2022.
Analysis of Ellipsis Arianna C