ECCENTRICITY

eccentricity

(noun) strange and unconventional behavior

eccentricity

(noun) a circularity that has a different center or deviates from a circular path

eccentricity

(noun) (geometry) a ratio describing the shape of a conic section; the ratio of the distance between the foci to the length of the major axis; “a circle is an ellipse with zero eccentricity”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

eccentricity (countable and uncountable, plural eccentricities)

The quality of being eccentric or odd; any eccentric behaviour.

(mathematics) The ratio, constant for any particular conic section, of the distance of a point from the focus to its distance from the directrix.

(astronomy) The distance of the centre of a planet's orbit from the centre of the sun.

Source: Wiktionary

Ec`cen*tric"i*ty, n.; pl. Eccentricities. Etym: [Cf. F. excentricité.]

1. The state of being eccentric; deviation from the customary line of conduct; oddity.

2. (Math.)

Definition: The ratio of the distance between the center and the focus of an ellipse or hyperbola to its semi-transverse axis.

3. (Astron.)

Definition: The ratio of the distance of the center of the orbit of a heavenly body from the center of the body round which it revolves to the semi-transverse axis of the orbit.

4. (Mech.)

Definition: The distance of the center of figure of a body, as of an eccentric, from an axis about which it turns; the throw.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition