Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
geocentric model

geocentric model

1 8.3
A view that Earth is at the center and the Sun and stars move around it
  • noun
  • /ˌdʒiːoʊˈsɛntrɪk ˈmɒdəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : modelo geocéntrico
  • Aristotle supported the geocentric model, claiming that the Earth was stationary and at the center of all celestial movements.

Examples

  • Copernicus, as you probably recall, decides that the geocentric model is wrong.

  • In ancient times, people believed in the geocentric model, which stated that the Earth was the center of the universe.

  • The geocentric model proposed that all stars and planets revolved around the Earth, a theory that was widely accepted until the Copernican Revolution.

Synonyms

geocentrism
vsgeocentric model
  • Specialized
1 9.2

The belief that Earth is the center and other bodies move around it

is the phrase form referring to that same theory
Ptolemaic system
vsgeocentric model
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A model that puts Earth at the center and has the sun and planets move around it

is the broader theory not tied to one historical author's version

Surface Forms

geocentric model singular
geocentric models plural

Morphology

geocentric + model

The phrase is fully compositional: 'geocentric' literally means 'Earth-centered' and 'model' is a conceptual representation, so the combined meaning (an Earth-centered model of the cosmos) is directly derivable from its parts. This adjective+noun pattern is common in scientific vocabulary and similar formations exist cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would understand the MWE.

Etymology

The term geocentric model comes from an old image of the sky: geo means 'Earth' and centric means 'at the center', so people pictured the Earth with the sun, moon and stars moving around it like a wheel. That's why the phrase means 'Earth is the center of the universe'.