lunarist

English

Alternative forms

• Lunarist

Noun

lunarist (plural lunarists)

1. (obsolete or historical) One who believes in the influence of the Moon on the weather of the Earth.
   • 1865, Walter Lord Browne, The moon and the weather, page 90:

     It can be safely stated, that so far as actual facts can be brought forward that are worthy of consideration, and so far as observations have been made by the very few who have already taken the trouble to examine the subject in a philosophical spirit, the lunarists have a very strong basis to work upon, and enough to encourage them to persevere in order to attain still more decided results; while the anti-lunarists have signally failed in predicting the weather and storms, also in deducing anything likely to crush the popular belief, or to satisfy the scientific inquirer.

   • 1904, The Meteorological Magazine, volume 38, page 10:

     The most recent adventurer in the direction of formulating a theory of the moon's influence on the weather is Mr. Hugh Clements, whose name is probably already familiar to many of our readers as that of a lunarist whose "long distance" predictions of weather have not infrequently appeared in the public press.

   • 2012, Jerry Lockett, The Discovery of Weather: Stephen Saxby, the Tumultuous Birth of Weather Forecasting, and Saxby's Gale of 1869:

     Even if FitzRoy did entertain doubts about the moon's influence on weather, he certainly never gave the moon the slightest consideration when he was compiling his forecasts. Others, apart from Saxby, also charged Fitzroy with being a lunarist. FitzRoy denied this vehemently, but it is easy to see from some of his writing why people might think he remained uncommitted.