orb

See also: ORB and òrb

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /oɹb/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɔː(ɹ)b/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(r)b

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Old French orbe, from Latin orbis (“circle, orb”). Compare orbit.

Noun

orb (plural orbs)

1. A spherical body; a globe; especially, one of the celestial spheres; a sun, planet, or star
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, A Lover's Complaint

     In the small orb of one particular tear.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     Whether the prime orb, Incredible how swift, had thither rolled.

2. One of the azure transparent spheres conceived by the ancients to be enclosed one within another, and to carry the heavenly bodies in their revolutions
3. A circle; especially, a circle, or nearly circular orbit, described by the revolution of a heavenly body; an orbit
   • 1612, Francis Bacon, Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall, "Of Superstition"

     The schoolmen were like astronomers, which did feign eccentrics, and epicycles, and such engines of orbs.

   • 1598–1599 (first performance)​, William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene i]:

     You seem to me as Dian in her orb.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     In orbs Of circuit inexpressible they stood, Orb within orb.

4. (rare) A period of time marked off by the revolution of a heavenly body.
   • 1667, Milton, John, Paradise Lost, Book V:

     Know none before us, self-begot, self-rais'd / By our own quick'ning power, when fatal course / Had circl'd his full Orbe, the birth mature / Of this our native Heav'n, Ethereal Sons.

5. (poetic) The eye, as luminous and spherical
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     A drop serene hath quenched their orbs.

6. (poetic) A revolving circular body; a wheel
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     The orbs Of his fierce chariot rolled.

7. (rare) A sphere of action.
   • 1815, William Wordsworth, "Essay, Supplementary to the Preface"

     By what fatality the orb of my genius […] acts upon these men like the moon upon a certain description of patients, it would be irksome to inquire

   • 1609, William Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre Act 1 Scene 2

     But in our orbs we'll live so round and safe.

8. A globus cruciger; a ceremonial sphere used to represent royal power
9. A translucent sphere appearing in flash photography (Orb (optics))
10. (military) A body of soldiers drawn up in a circle, as for defence, especially infantry to repel cavalry.

Synonyms

• (spherical body): ball, globe, sphere
• (circle): circle, orbit
• (a period of time): See Thesaurus:year
• (an eye): See Thesaurus:eye
• (revolving circular body): roller, wheel
• (sphere of action): area, domain, field, province
• (monarch's ceremonial sphere): globe, globus cruciger, mound, orb
• (military formation): globe

Translations

spherical body

• Bulgarian: сфера (bg) f (sfera), кълбо (bg) n (kǎlbo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 球體 (zh), 天体 (zh) (tiāntǐ)

• Dutch: bol (nl) m
• Finnish: pallo (fi)
• French: orbe (fr) m
• German: Kugel (de) f, Gestirn (de) n
• Greek: σφαίρα (el) f (sfaíra)
• Hebrew: כַּדּוּר‎ (he) m (kadúr)

• Italian: orbe (it)
• Japanese: 球体 (きゅうたい, kyūtai)
• Korean: 천체 (ko) (cheonche)
• Portuguese: orbe (pt) m
• Russian: сфе́ра (ru) f (sféra), шар (ru) m (šar)
• Spanish: orbe (es) m
• Swedish: klot (sv) n
• Tocharian B: yerpe
• Volapük: levalaglöp (vo)

mythology: transparent sphere carrying the heavenly bodies

• Finnish: sfääri (fi)

• French: sphère (fr) f

circle — see circle

orbit — see orbit

period of time marked off by the revolution of a heavenly body — see year

poetic: the eye, as luminous and spherical

• Dutch: oogappel (nl)
• French: œil (fr) m

• Italian: occhio (it), globo (it)

poetic: a revolving circular body; a wheel

• Finnish: pyörä (fi)
• French: sphère (fr) f

• Italian: sfera (it)

sphere of action

• Finnish: ympyrät pl

monarch's ceremonial sphere — see globus cruciger

same as mound, a ball or globe
See mound, ball, globe

Verb

orb (third-person singular simple present orbs, present participle orbing, simple past and past participle orbed)

1. (poetic, transitive) To form into an orb or circle.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Lowell to this entry?)

   • 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the book number)”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     Let each
     His adamantine coat gird well , and each
     Fit well his helm , gripe fast his orbed shield

2. (poetic, intransitive) To become round like an orb.
3. (poetic, transitive) To encircle; to surround; to enclose.
   • 1717, Joseph Addison, Metamorphoses

     The wheels were orbed with gold.

Etymology 2

From Old French orb (“blind”), from Latin orbus (“destitute”).

Noun

orb (plural orbs)

1. (architecture) A blank window or panel.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Oxf. Gloss to this entry?)

References

• orb in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• BOR, Bor, Bor., ROB, Rob, bor, bro, bro., rob

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Catalan

Etymology

From Old Occitan (compare Occitan òrb), from Latin orbus (ab oculīs) (literally “deprived of eyes”) (compare Italian orbo, Romanian orb, French aveugle from the other half of the idiom), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”).

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈɔɾp/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈɔrp/

Adjective

orb (feminine orba, masculine plural orbs, feminine plural orbes)

1. blind

Synonyms

• cec

Noun

orb m (uncountable)

1. a fungal disease of wheat and other cereals

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Estonian

Etymology

Borrowed from Finnish orpo, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *orpa, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *arbha-s. Cognate with Hungarian árva.

Noun

orb (genitive orvu, partitive orbu)

1. orphan

Declension

Declension of orb (type riik)

	singular	plural
nominative	orb	orvud
genitive	orvu	orbude
partitive	orbu	orbe / orbusid
illative	orbu / orvusse	orbudesse
inessive	orvus	orbudes
elative	orvust	orbudest
allative	orvule	orbudele
adessive	orvul	orbudel
ablative	orvult	orbudelt
translative	orvuks	orbudeks
terminative	orvuni	orbudeni
essive	orvuna	orbudena
abessive	orvuta	orbudeta
comitative	orvuga	orbudega

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Romanian

Etymology

From Latin orbus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”). Compare Italian orbo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /orb/

Adjective

orb m or n (feminine singular oarbă, masculine plural orbi, feminine and neuter plural oarbe)

1. blind

Declension

Declension of orb

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	orb		oarbă	orbi	oarbe
	definite	orbul		oarba	orbii	oarbele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	orb		oarbe	orbi	oarbe
	definite	orbului		oarbei	orbilor	oarbelor

Noun

orb m (plural orbi, feminine equivalent oarbă)

1. blind man

Declension

Declension of orb

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) orb	orbul	(niște) orbi	orbii
genitive/dative	(unui) orb	orbului	(unor) orbi	orbilor
vocative	orbule		orbilor

Derived terms

• orbeț
• orbi

Related terms

• orbecăi

See also

• chior
• mut
• surd
• vedea