Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌌 Like a sky model 🧿 Like bracelets
armillary

armillary

9.9
Made of rings arranged like a model of the sky
  • adjective
  • /ˈɛrməˌlɛri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : armilar
  • It depicts an armillary sphere used by this famous Danish astronomer at his observatory, Uraniborg.
  • armillary sphere

Examples

  • An ornate armillary structure served as the centerpiece in the planetarium, showcasing the movement of the stars.

  • The garden featured an armillary design that elegantly reflected the paths of celestial bodies.

  • Visitors admired the armillary globe, which illustrated the ancient understanding of the universe with its intricate rings.

Compounds

armillary sphere
  • Specialized
9.9

A model of the sky made of rings that shows how stars and planets move

Surface Forms

armillary positive

Morphology

armillary = armilla + ary

The form is historically armilla + -ary, but the specialized sense relating to an armillary sphere is not transparently predictable because the root is not a familiar English morpheme and the usage is technical.

Etymology

Armillary comes from the Latin armilla, 'bracelet', because early astronomers used many metal rings like bracelets around a globe to show the sky. That's why armillary describes things that have rings or a round, ringed structure like those old sky models.