minor axis

noun

, Mathematics.

1. the axis of an ellipse that is perpendicular to the major axis at a point equidistant from the foci.

minor axis

noun

1. the shorter or shortest axis of an ellipse or ellipsoid

Word History and Origins

Origin of minor axis¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

A shocking shift of the symphony’s D minor axis, this became a paradoxically fearsome eruption of D major.

From Seattle Times

The two axes of the ellipse are the major axis and the minor axis, and the two axes of the hyperbola are the transverse axis and the conjugate axis.

From Project Gutenberg

The minor axis or greatest breadth is about one-half the major axis or length.

From Project Gutenberg

In the case of extensive operations the surface must be considered as a compressed ellipsoid of rotation, whose minor axis coincides with the earth’s axis, and whose compression, flattening, or ellipticity is about 1/298.

From Project Gutenberg

A and B are the foci, D the centre, EF the major axis, GH the minor axis, and the fraction DA/DE the eccentricity of the ellipse.

From Project Gutenberg