Ptolemaic (Adjective)
Meaning 1
Of or relating to the astronomer Ptolemy.
Classification
Relational adjectives (pertainyms).
Examples
- The Ptolemaic system of astronomy described the universe as geocentric with celestial objects revolving around the Earth.
- Astronomers soon sought to disprove the Ptolemaic theory that put Earth at the center of the solar system.
- The geocentric model presented in Ptolemy's Almagest represented a significant component of Ptolemaic astronomy.
- By placing the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the solar system, Copernicus' heliocentric model directly challenged Ptolemaic theories.
- Historians often analyze the Ptolemaic understanding of planetary motion and celestial phenomena as an essential precursor to later astronomical discoveries.
Related Words
Meaning 2
Of or relating to the geocentric Ptolemaic system; "in the Ptolemaic system of planetary motion the earth is fixed as the center of the universe with the sun and moon and planets revolving around it".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The ancient Greeks widely adopted the Ptolemaic view of the universe for many centuries.
- Galileo studied Copernicus' ideas heavily contradicting the Ptolemaic system established by his predecessors.
- The Ptolemaic system remained widely accepted for nearly fourteen hundred years after its inception.
- Historians consider the geocentric Ptolemaic system of great importance in the study of astronomy's progress.
- Copernicus challenged the long-standing Ptolemaic model of the universe by proposing a heliocentric system instead.