Aristarchus of Samos
- proper noun
- Aristarchus of Samos proposed that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Examples
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Aristarchus of Samos was one of the earliest scientists to suggest a heliocentric model of the universe.
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Many historians credit Aristarchus of Samos with anticipating the work of Copernicus.
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The revolutionary ideas of Aristarchus of Samos were largely ignored until much later in history.
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Did Aristarchus of Samos really suggest a heliocentric model?
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Aristarchus of Samos was one of the earliest scientists to suggest a heliocentric model of the universe.
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Many historians credit Aristarchus of Samos with anticipating the work of Copernicus.
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The revolutionary ideas of Aristarchus of Samos were largely ignored until much later in history.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Aristarchus + of + Samos
The construction 'Aristarchus of Samos' transparently indicates a person associated with or originating from Samos, so a learner who knows 'of' and 'Samos' can infer it is a name plus place of origin. However, the detailed encyclopedic meaning (an ancient Greek astronomer who proposed heliocentrism) is not derivable from the parts, so the expression is only partially compositional.
Etymology
Aristarchus of Samos was an ancient Greek scientist who studied the sky and noticed the Sun looked much larger than the Earth and Moon, so he guessed the Sun should be at the centre. That's why he is remembered as the first to suggest the idea that the 'Earth moves around the Sun'.