Ellipse is one of the conic sections produced when a plane cuts the cone at different angles to the base.
Circle - slice parallel to base.
Ellipse - slice through the curved surface at an angle to base.
Parabola - slice through curved surface and base.
Hyperbola - slice through curved surface and the base at right angles to the base. This is one branch of the hyperbola. For its pair, we need to imagine a double cone.