The ellipse is one of the three conics. Strangely, its name does not follow the same pattern as those of the other two, the parabola and the hyperbola, which share the suffix "bole" (from ballô, Greek for "throw"). What might seem like an incidental linguistic detail actually reflects a mathematical feature identified by Apollonius of Perga, who coined the three terms used for the conics.
From sections to curves ------------------------
Although the Greeks had a marked preference for straightedge-and-compass constructions, they nevertheless used curves other than circles and straight lines to tackle their problems (see box).
The earliest studies of conics date back to at least the mid-4th century BC. What we know of them comes not from direct sources, but from accounts by various authors in later centuries.