| Definition: Omitting a word or phrase that is needed for complete syntax, but which isn't needed for complete comprehension. |
| Example: In the sentence Fire when ready the you are is missing but inferred, thus the sentence really means Fire when you are ready. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Greek elleipsis, a leaving out (from Greek elleipein, to leave out). |
Oxford English Dictionary: The first recorded use of the word in its grammatical sense is from 1612: "The first of the Substantives is oft understood by a figure called Ellipsis."
(Brinsley Pos. Parts (1669) 67) |