sphere

sphere
\ \ [17] Sphere goes back ultimately to Greek sphaira, a word of uncertain origin, which reached English via Latin sphaera or sphēra and Old French espere. Amongst the theories put forward to account for its ancestry are that it was derived from Greek sphurásfall of dung, round pellet of dung, pill’, which has relatives in Lithuanian spirasheep-dung’ and modern Icelandic sperthillgoat-dung’; and that it is related to Greek spaíreinquiver’ and Sanskrit sphur- ‘spring, quiver, trouble’. It metaphorical use in English for ‘area of activity’ dates from the early 17th century.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • sphère — [ sfɛr ] n. f. • 1509; espere mil. XIIe; d ab. t. d astron.; lat. sphæra, gr. sphaira 1 ♦ Surface fermée dont tous les points sont situés à égale distance d un point donné; solide délimité par cette surface (⇒ 1. balle, 1. bille, boule). Centre,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Sphere — Sphère Pour les articles homonymes, voir Sphère (homonymie). Une sphère dans un espace euclidien En géométrie euclidienne, une sphère es …   Wikipédia en Français

  • sphere — SPHERE. s. f. Terme de Geometrie. Corps solide dont toutes les lignes tirées du centre à la circonference sont esgales. Sphere, se prend plus ordinairement pour Une espece de machine ronde & mobile, composée des divers cercles qui representent… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Sphere — Sphere, n. [OE. spere, OF. espere, F. sph[ e]re, L. sphaera,. Gr. ??? a sphere, a ball.] 1. (Geom.) A body or space contained under a single surface, which in every part is equally distant from a point within called its center. [1913 Webster] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • -sphère — ⇒ SPHÈRE, élém. formant Élém. tiré du subst. fr. sphère, entrant dans la constr. de subst. fém., plus rarement masc. A. GÉOPHYS., ASTRON. [Sur le modèle de atmosphère; les mots constr. désignent des couches de la sphère terrestre ou de son… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • sphere — [sfıə US sfır] n [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: espere, from Latin sphaera, from Greek sphaira ball, sphere ] 1.) a ball shape 2.) a particular area of activity, work, knowledge etc in ... sphere ▪ television s increasing role in the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • sphere — [ sfır ] noun count ** 1. ) an object that is round like a ball 2. ) a particular area of interest, activity, work, etc. that is one of many parts of life: the financial/political/scientific etc. sphere: Let s take this debate out of the… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • sphere — [sfir] n. [ME spere < OFr espere < L sphaera < Gr sphaira] 1. any round body or figure having the surface equally distant from the center at all points; globe; ball 2. a star, planet, etc. 3. the visible heavens; sky 4. short for… …   English World dictionary

  • Sphere — Sphere, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sphered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sphering}.] 1. To place in a sphere, or among the spheres; to insphere. [1913 Webster] The glorious planet Sol In noble eminence enthroned and sphered Amidst the other. Shak. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sphere — (n.) 1530s, restored spelling of M.E. spere (c.1300) space, conceived as a hollow globe about the world, from O.Fr. espere (13c.), from L. sphæra globe, ball, celestial sphere, from Gk. sphaira globe, ball, of unknown origin. Sense of ball, body… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Sphere — – Die Gedanken des Bösen ist ein Roman des US amerikanischen Schriftstellers Michael Crichton aus dem Jahr 1987. Das Buch wurde 1997 unter dem Titel Sphere – Die Macht aus dem All von Barry Levinson verfilmt. Handlung Der Psychologe Dr. Norman… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”