epicycle

See also épicycle

English

Etymology

From Latin epicyclus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίκυκλος, from ἐπί (“upon”) + κύκλος (“circle”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɛpɪsaɪkəl/

Noun

epicycle (plural epicycles)

1. (astronomy) A small circle whose centre is on the circumference of a larger circle; in Ptolemaic astronomy it was seen as the basis of revolution of the "seven planets", given a fixed central Earth.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, Folio Society 2006, vol. 1 p. 155:

     Is it not [Philosophie], that [...] teacheth miserie, famine and sicknesse to laugh? Not by reason of some imaginarie Epicicles, but by naturall and palpable reasons.

2. (mathematics) Any circle whose circumference rolls around that of another circle, thus creating a hypocycloid or epicycloid.

Derived terms

• epicyclic

Translations

a small circle whose centre is on the circumference of a larger circle

• Bulgarian: епицикъл (epitsikil)
• Cape Verdean Creole: episiklu, epiciclo
• Catalan: epicicle (ca)
• Danish: epicykel (da)
• Dutch: epicykels (nl)
• Finnish: episykli (fi)
• French: épicycle (fr)
• German: Epizykel (de)
• Hebrew: אפיציקל (he)
• Icelandic: aukahringur (is) m, hjáhringur (is) m

• Ido: epiciklo (io)
• Italian: epiciclo (it)
• Malayalam: അധിചക്രം (ml)
• Manx: far-chiarkyl (gv) m
• Norwegian: episyklus (no)
• Portuguese: epiciclo (pt) m
• Russian: эпицикл (ru) (epicikl) (epitsikl)
• Slovak: epicyklus (sk)
• Spanish: epiciclo (es) m
• Swedish: epicykel (sv)

any circle whose circumference rolls around that of another circle

• Finnish: episykli (fi)

• Manx: far-chiarkyl (gv) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Swedish: epicykel c