ATLANTES

Etymology

Noun

atlantes

plural of atlas

Source: Wiktionary


At*lan"tes, n. pl. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Atlas.] (Arch.)

Definition: Figures or half figures of men, used as columns to support an entablature; -- called also telamones. See Caryatides. Oxf. Gloss.

ATLAS

At"las, n.; pl. Atlases. Etym: [L. Atlas, -antis, Gr. Atlas, in W. Africa, regarded as the pillar of heaven. It is from the root of Tolerate.]

1. One who sustains a great burden.

2. (Anat.)

Definition: The first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name.

3. A collection of maps in a volume; --

Note: supposed to be so called from a picture of Atlas supporting the world, prefixed to some collections. This name is said to have been first used by Mercator, the celebrated geographer, in the 16th century.

Note: 4. A volume of plates illustrating any subject.

5. A work in which subjects are exhibited in a tabular from or arrangement; as, an historical atlas.

6. A large, square folio, resembling a volume of maps; -- called also atlas folio.

7. A drawing paper of large size. See under Paper, n. Atlas powder, a nitroglycerin blasting compound of pasty consistency and great explosive power.

At"las, n. Etym: [Ar., smooth.]

Definition: A rich kind of satin manufactured in India. Brande & C.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

12 February 2025

MEGACOLON

(noun) an abnormal enlargement of the colon; can be congenital (as in Hirschsprung’s disease) or acquired (as when children refuse to defecate)


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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