v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Elongated p. pr. & vb. n. Elongating. ] [ LL. elongatus, p. p. of elongare to remove, to prolong; e + L. longus long. See Long, a., and cf. Eloign. ] 1. To lengthen; to extend; to stretch; as, to elongate a line. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To remove further off. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To depart to, or be at, a distance; esp., to recede apparently from the sun, as a planet in its orbit. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ LL. elongatus. ] Drawn out at length; elongated; as, an elongate leaf. “An elongate form.” Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having a length noticeably longer than the width.
Syn. -- elongate. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. rendered longer.
Syn. -- lengthened. [ PJC ]

n. [ LL. elongatio: cf. F. élongation. ] 1. The act of lengthening, or the state of being lengthened; protraction; extension. “Elongation of the fibers.” Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which lengthens out; continuation. [ 1913 Webster ]

May not the mountains of Westmoreland and Cumberland be considered as elongations of these two chains? Pinkerton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Removal to a distance; withdrawal; a being at a distance; distance. [ 1913 Webster ]

The distant points in the celestial expanse appear to the eye in so small a degree of elongation from one another, as bears no proportion to what is real. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Astron.) The angular distance of a planet from the sun; as, the elongation of Venus or Mercury. [ 1913 Webster ]