Etymology : Latin Atlant-, Atlas, from Greek
Pronunciation : 'at-l&s
Function : noun
Date :
1. atlas.
2. type of intercontinental ballistic missile developed during the 1960s; Titan condemned to bear the Earth and heavens on his shoulders (Classical Mythology); one who bears a great burden. (Architecture) telamon, pillar. collection of geographical maps; first vertebra in the neck (Anatomy). atlas\at"las\, n. [ar., smooth.] a rich kind of satin manufactured in india.atlas \at"las\ , n.; pl. atlases . [l. atlas, -antis, gr. , , one of the older family of gods, who bears up the pillars of heaven; also mt. atlas, in w. africa, regarded as the pillar of heaven. it is from the root of to bear. see:
tolerate.].
3. one who sustains a great burden.
4. (anat.) the first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name.
5. a collection of maps in a volume;note: supposed to be so called from a picture of atlas supporting the world, prefixed to some collections. this name is said to have been first used by mercator, the celebrated geographer, in the 16th century.
6. a volume of plates illustrating any subject.
7. a work in which subjects are exhibited in a tabular from or arrangement; as, an historical atlas.
8. a large, square folio, resembling a volume of maps; -- called also atlas folio.
9. a drawing paper of large size. see:
under paper, n.atlas powder, a nitroglycerin blasting compound of pasty consistency and great explosive power.atlas n.
10. (greek mythology) a titan who was forced by zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders [syn: atlas].
11. a collection of maps in book form [syn: book of maps, map collection ].
12. the 1st cervical vertebra [syn: atlas vertebra].
13. a figure of a man used as a supporting column [syn: telamon].
14. atlas. satin.
15. One who sustains a great burden.
16. The first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name.
17. A collection of maps in a volume A volume of plates illustrating any subject.
18. A work in which subjects are exhibited in a tabular from or arrangement; as, an historical atlas.
19. A large, square folio, resembling a volume of maps; called also atlas folio.
20. A drawing paper of large size.
21. See under Paper, n.
22. A rich kind of satin manufactured in India. a figure of a man used as a supporting column the 1st cervical vertebra a collection of maps in book form a Titan who was forced by Zeus to bear the sky on his shoulders.
23. Atlas, Titan condemned to bear the Earth and heavens on his shoulders (Classical Mythology). atlas, collection of geographical maps; satin. "atlas; satin".
24. atlas, map book.
25. illustrations and charts at the end of a book.
26. anat. atlas.
27. satin. atlas. mapbook.
28. An atlas is a book of maps. in Greek mythology, one of the Titans (=the first gods who ruled the universe) . After the Titans were defeated by Zeus, Atlas was forced to hold the sky on his shoulders forever. In art, however, Atlas is usually shown holding the world on his shoulders, not the sky. a book containing maps, especially of the whole world road atlas (Atlas giant in an ancient Greek story who had to hold up the sky; because his name was used as the title of a 16th-century book of maps). In Greek mythology, the strong man who supported the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. He was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the nymph Clymene (or Asia) and the brother of Prometheus. According to Hesiod, Atlas was one of the Titans who waged war against Zeus, and as punishment he was condemned to hold aloft the heavens. Collection of maps or charts, usually bound together. The name derives from a custom initiated by Gerardus Mercator in the 16th century of using the figure of the Titan Atlas, holding the globe on his shoulders, as a frontispiece for books of maps. Abraham Ortelius's Epitome of the Theater of the World (1570) is generally thought to be the first modern atlas. Atlases often contain pictures, tabular data, facts about areas, and indexes of place-names keyed to coordinates of latitude and longitude or to a locational grid with numbers and letters along the sides of maps. Male figure used as a column to support an entablature, balcony, or other projection, originating in Classical architecture. Such figures are posed as if supporting great weights, like Atlas bearing the world. The related telamon of Roman architecture, the male counterpart of the caryatid, is also a weight-bearing figure but does not usually appear in an atlas pose. Atlas Mountains Atlas rocket Atlas Charles.