ˌekˌsen.ˈtrisəd.ē, -ətē, -i sometimes ˌeksən- or ikˌsen- or ekˌsen- noun
( -es )
Etymology: Medieval Latin eccentricitat-, eccentricitas, from eccentricus + Latin -itat-, -itas -ity
: the condition, degree, or an instance of being eccentric: as
a. in machinery : the distance of the center of figure of a body from an axis about which it turns : throw — compare eccentric I 2
b. : deviation from an established pattern, rule, or norm
speaking French with an eccentricity that could not be ignored — F.M.Ford
: odd or whimsical behavior
mild and retiring to the point of eccentricity — C.B.Forcey
c. : the ratio of the distances from any point of a conic section to a focus and the corresponding directrix, being less than one in the ellipse, greater than one in the hyperbola, equal to one in the parabola, and equal to zero in the circle