-tə̇k(ə)lē, -tēk-, -li adverb
1. : in an elliptic manner : in the shape or manner of an ellipse
moves elliptically about its orbit
2.
a. : with omission of an element (as one needed to complete a train of thought or speech) : without transition or logical connectives : cryptically , enigmatically
one might go elliptically … from talk of toothache to talk of ships storm-tossed at sea — K.D.Burke
b. : with great economy of expression : concisely
this whole earlier empire-building clan … is described so eloquently and so elliptically — M.D.Geismar
c. : in a passing or tangential way
even in the pieces upon which he impinges most elliptically — Richard Watts