Ellipsis

Noun, plural

Definition: The omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues.

Synonyms: Omission, Exclusion, Deletion

Antonyms: Inclusion, Addition

Examples:

She used an ellipsis to indicate the omission of unnecessary details.
The author employed ellipses throughout the paragraph to create suspense.

Mnemonics:

Think of ellipsis as "dot, dot, dot" which represents the omission of words.

Etymology:

Origin:

Late Middle English via Latin from Greek 'elleipsis', from elleipein 'leave out'.

Historical Usage:

The term "ellipsis" was first used in English in the late 16th century. It has been used in literature, linguistics, and grammar to denote the omission of words or phrases.

Related Idioms:

Idiom:

"Dot, dot, dot" or "..."

Explanation:

This phrase is often used informally to refer to the visual representation of an ellipsis in written text.

Misconceptions:

Misconception:

Confusing "ellipsis" with "ellipsis marks" or thinking they can only be represented by three dots.

Explanation:

While the most common representation of an ellipsis is with three dots, it can also be shown with more or fewer dots, or even using other characters such as a single centered dot (i.e., ⋯). The term "ellipsis" refers to the omission of words, not solely the way it is visually represented.