Epicycle

Definition: Epicycle

Epicycle

Noun

1. A circle that rolls around (inside or outside) another circle; generates an epicycloid or hypocycloid.

Date "epicycle" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Etymology: Epicycle \Ep"i*cy`cle\, noun. [Latin expression epicyclus, Greek; 'epi` upon circle. See Cycle.]. (Websters 1913)

Specialty Definitions: Epicycle

Domain	Definitions
Space	A circle around a point which (in the simplest form of Ptolemy's system) moved steadily around the celestial sphere. Greek astronomers proposed that planets moved along epicycles around the Sun or around other points which circled around the sky; later additional corrections were added. The theory of epicycles was the earliest explanation for the irregular apparent motion of the planetsprograde (forward), then retrograde. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Deferent and epicycle

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

An epicycle is a term from the Ptolemaic system of astronomy. The epicycle was designed by Apollonius of Perga at the end of the 3rd century BC as a geometric model to explain the variations in speed and direction of the apparent motion of the Moon, Sun, and planets. In particular it explained retrograde motion.

In the Ptolemaic system, the planets are assumed to move in a small circle, called an epicycle, which in turn moves along a larger circle called a deferent. Both circles rotate counterclockwise and are roughly parallel to the Earth's plane of orbit (ecliptic).

The deferent would be considered to be centered on the Earth (as the planet was believed to be in orbit around Earth... see: geocentric universe).

As viewed from Earth, the planets were seen as mostly moving eastward along the deferent. Half of the time, the added motion along the epicycle was eastward, in parallel with the eastward movement of the epicycle on the deference. However, at times the planet would move along the epicycle in an opposite direction to the motion of the epicycle along the deferent. This would cause the planet to slow down and reverse course, ie. retrogradation.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Deferent and epicycle."

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Synonyms within Context: Epicycle

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Circularity	Ellipse, oval, ovule; ellipsoid, cycloid; epicycloid, epicycle; semicircle; quadrant, sextant, sector.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Epicycle

English words defined with "epicycle": epicyclic, epicyclical, Equant. (references)

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Commercial Usage: Epicycle

Domain	Title
Books	Herman Melville: Cycle and Epicycle (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Epicycle

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day
epicycle	5
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Epicycle

Language		Translations for "epicycle"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		epicikël. (various references)

Arabic		‏فلك التدوير. (various references)

Bulgarian		епицикъл. (various references)

French		épicycle. (various references)

Hungarian		epiciklus. (various references)

Manx		far-chiarkyl (truss-hoop). (various references)

Pig Latin		epicycleay

Portuguese		epicurismo (epicurism). (various references)

Russian		эпицикл. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		putanja unutrašnjeg kruga. (various references)

Spanish		epiciclo. (various references)

Thai		การเคลื่อนที่ของ�"าวเคราะห์ตามทฤษฎีระบบสุริยะของเพลโตที่ว่าวัตถุทรงกลมจะเคลื่อนที่ไปตา. (various references)

Turkish		dış tekerleme eğrisi, dış çember. (various references)

Ukranian		епіцикл. (various references)

Vietnamese		ngoại luân (epicyclic). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Derivations: Epicycle

Derivations
	Words beginning with "epicycle": epicycles. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Epicycle"

Words rhyming with "epicycle" (pronounced 'Ep"i*cy`cle'): Cicatricle, Demicircle, hemicycle, Sectiuncle, semicircle, Vibratiuncle. (additional references)

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Anagrams: Epicycle

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "c-c-e-e-i-l-p-y"
	-2 letters: cicely, clypei.
	-3 letters: clepe, cycle, lycee, piece.
	-4 letters: ceil, cepe, clip, eely, epic, lice, lipe, peel, pele, pice, pile, pily, plie, pyic, yelp, yipe.
	-5 letters: cee, cel, cep, eel, eye, ice, icy, lee, lei, ley, lie, lip, lye, pec, pee, pic, pie, ply, pye, yep, yip.
	Words containing the letters "c-c-e-e-i-l-p-y"
	+1 letter: epicycles, pericycle.
	+2 letters: epicalyces, pericycles.
	+3 letters: psychedelic.
	+4 letters: encyclopedia, encyclopedic, psychedelics, pyroelectric.
	+5 letters: encyclopaedia, encyclopaedic, encyclopedias, encyclopedism, encyclopedist, hypercalcemia, hypercalcemic, hyperglycemic, phencyclidine.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.