Epicycle
[ep-uh-sahy-kuh l] /ˈɛp əˌsaɪ kəl/
noun
1.
Astronomy. a small circle the center of which moves around in the circumference of a larger circle: used in Ptolemaic astronomy to account for observed periodic irregularities in planetary motions.
2.
Mathematics. a circle that rolls, externally or internally, without slipping, on another circle, generating an or hypocycloid.
/ˈɛpɪˌsaɪkəl/
noun
1.
(astronomy) (in the Ptolemaic system) a small circle, around which a planet was thought to revolve, whose centre describes a larger circle (the deferent) centred on the earth
2.
a circle that rolls around the inside or outside of another circle, so generating an epicycloid or hypocycloid
n.
late 14c., from Latin epicyclus, from Greek epikyklos, from epi (see epi-) + kyklos (see cycle (n.)).
epicycle
(ěp’ĭ-sī’kəl)
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[ep-uh-sahy-kuh l] /ˈɛp əˌsaɪ kəl/ noun 1. Astronomy. a small circle the center of which moves around in the circumference of a larger circle: used in Ptolemaic astronomy to account for observed periodic irregularities in planetary motions. 2. Mathematics. a circle that rolls, externally or internally, without slipping, on another circle, generating an or hypocycloid. […]
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