atlas
Plural: atlantes, atlases, atlasses
Noun
- A supporting column sculpted in the form of a man.
- (Greek mythology) a Titan who was forced by Zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders
- a collection of maps in book form
- the 1st cervical vertebra
- a figure of a man used as a supporting column
- A bound collection of maps often including tables, illustrations or other text.
- A bound collection of tables, illustrations, etc. on any given subject.
- A detailed visual conspectus of something of great and multi-faceted complexity, with its elements splayed so as to be presented in as discrete a manner as possible whilst retaining a realistic view of the whole.
- A family of coordinate charts that cover a manifold.
- The uppermost vertebra of the cervical spine in the neck in humans and some other animals.
- One who supports a heavy burden; mainstay.
- A figure of a man used as a column.
- A sheet of paper measuring 26 inches by 34 inches.
- A rich satin fabric.
Examples
- His opening play of ATLAS was strong enough to support his entire game strategy.
Origin / Etymology
Borrowed from Latin Atlas, from the name of the Ancient Greek mythological figure Ἄτλας (Átlas, “Bearer (of the Heavens)”), from τλῆναι (tlênai, “to suffer”, “to endure”, “to bear”). The sense referring to books of maps comes from the Atlas of Mercator, which he named thus in honor of Atlas, who was supposed to be skillful in astronomy and the doctrine of the sphere. The sense referring to the vertebra reflects that the spine carries the globe of the cranium (the neck carries the head).
Scrabble Score: 5
atlas: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordatlas: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
atlas: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 6
atlas: valid Words With Friends Word