eccentricity: Meaning and Definition of

ec•cen•tric•i•ty

1. an oddity or peculiarity, as of conduct: an interesting man, known for his eccentricities.
2. the quality of being eccentric.
3. the amount by which something is eccentric.
4. the distance between the centers of two cylindrical objects one of which surrounds the other, as between an eccentric and the shaft on which it is mounted.
5. a constant expressed as the ratio of the distance from a point on a conic to a focus and the distance from the point to the directrix.