Ellipsis

The ellipsis (əˈlɪpsɪs; also known informally as dot dot dot) is a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning. The plural is ellipses. The term originates from the ἔλλειψις, élleipsis meaning 'leave out'. Opinions differ as to how to render ellipses in printed material. According to The Chicago Manual of Style, it should consist of three periods, each separated from its neighbor by a non-breaking space: . According to the AP Stylebook, the periods should be rendered with no space between them: . A third option is to use the Unicode character U+2026 . The ellipsis is also called a suspension point, points of ellipsis, periods of ellipsis, or (colloquially) "dot-dot-dot". Depending on their context and placement in a sentence, ellipses can indicate an unfinished thought, a leading statement, a slight pause, an echoing voice, or a nervous or awkward silence. Aposiopesis is the use of an ellipsis to trail off into silence—for example: "But I thought he was..." When placed at the end of a sentence, an ellipsis may be used to suggest melancholy or longing. The most common forms of an ellipsis include a row of three periods or full points or a precomposed triple-dot glyph, the horizontal ellipsis . Style guides often have their own rules governing the use of ellipses. For example, The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) recommends that an ellipsis be formed by typing three periods, each with a space on both sides , while the Associated Press Stylebook (AP style) puts the dots together, but retains a space before and after the group, thus: . Whether an ellipsis at the end of a sentence needs a fourth dot to finish the sentence is a matter of debate; Chicago advises it, as does the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style), while some other style guides do not; the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and related works treat this style as optional, saying that it "may" be used.