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Glite Dictionary
🌌 A star chart 🗺️ A world map
planisphere

planisphere

9.0
A flat map that shows the whole Earth on one sheet
  • noun
  • /ˈplænɪˌsfɪr/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mapa
  • He studied the planisphere carefully, tracing the countries and continents as he prepared for his upcoming trip.

Examples

  • During geography class, we used a planisphere to explore Earth's different climates and landscapes.

  • As part of his "How Big, How Far" talk to demonstrate sizes, author White uses a dinner plate and a planisphere to represent the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The teacher showed the students a planisphere to help them understand how to locate constellations in the night sky.

How Precise

geodesy
  • Specialized
9.9
CRS
  • Specialized
8.2
planisphere
  • Specialized
9.0

Surface Forms

planisphere singular
planispheres plural

Morphology

planisphere = plane + sphere (semi-transparent) = planis + sphere

The components suggest a 'flattened sphere' (a flat representation of the globe), but the cartographic use as a world map is a specialized sense.

Etymology

Planisphere comes from plane meaning 'flat' and sphere meaning 'globe'. So a planisphere is a 'flat globe' of the Earth — a map that puts the whole world onto a single flat sheet.