Great-circle
noun
1.
a circle on a spherical surface such that the plane containing the circle passes through the center of the sphere.
Compare .
2.
a circle of which a segment represents the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the earth.
noun
1.
a circular section of a sphere that has a radius equal to that of the sphere Compare small circle
great circle
A circle on the surface of a sphere whose plane passes through the center of the sphere. The Earth’s equator is a great circle on the sphere of the globe.
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- Great-circle sailing
[greyt-sur-kuh l] /ˈgreɪtˈsɜr kəl/ noun, Navigation. 1. sailing between two points more or less according to an arc of a great circle, in practice almost always using a series of rhumb lines of different bearings to approximate the arc, whose own bearing changes constantly unless it coincides with a meridian or the equator.
- Great-circle track
noun 1. the route of a ship following the arc of a great circle, appearing as a curved line on a Mercator chart and as a straight line on a gnomonic chart.
- Greatcoat
[greyt-koht] /ˈgreɪtˌkoʊt/ noun, Chiefly British. 1. a heavy overcoat. /ˈɡreɪtˌkəʊt/ noun 1. a heavy overcoat, now worn esp by men in the armed forces n. “large, heavy overcoat,” 1660s, from great + coat (n.).
- Great-crested-flycatcher
noun 1. a North American flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus, noted for its use of the castoff skins of snakes in building its nest.
- Great-daedala
noun 1. See under . [deed-l-uh] /ˈdid l ə/ noun, (sometimes used with a plural verb) 1. either of two festivals held in ancient Boeotia in honor of the reconciliation of Hera with Zeus, one (Little Daedala) being held every 6 years, the other (Great Daedala) every 59 years.