planisphere

[ plan-uh-sfeer, pley-nuh- ]

noun

1. a map of half or more of the celestial sphere with a device for indicating the part of a given location visible at a given time.
2. a projection or representation of the whole or a part of a sphere on a plane.

planisphere

/ ˌplænɪˈsfɛrɪk; ˈplænɪˌsfɪə /

noun

1. a projection or representation of all or part of a sphere on a plane surface, such as a polar projection of the celestial sphere onto a chart

Derived Forms

• planispheric, adjective

Other Words From

• plan·i·spher·i·cal [plan-, uh, -, sfer, -i-k, uh, l, -, sfeer, -, pley-n, uh, -], plani·spheric plan·i·spher·al [plan-i-, sfeer, -, uh, l, pley-n, uh, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of planisphere¹

1350–1400; plani- + sphere; replacing Middle English planisperie < Medieval Latin plānisphaerium

Word History and Origins

Origin of planisphere¹

C14: from Medieval Latin plānisphaerium, from Latin plānus flat + Greek sphaira globe

Example Sentences

A second map, created in 1502 and called the Cantino Planisphere, depicts the peninsula of Florida with a remarkably accurate rendering of its inlets and bays.

From Washington Times

In the poem “In a Wonderful Place,” published in the 2009 collection “Planisphere,” he offered a brief, bittersweet look back.

From Washington Post

In summer I sometimes come outside at night with my torch and my planisphere, which is two circles of plastic with a pin through the middle.

From Literature

If it’s prominent enough throughout, the reader will go along with whatever unlikely image he might throw in—the sight of a woman reclining on the bristles of a toothbrush, for example, or a nation born on a man’s palm with a whole “saffron planisphere and aged rum.”

From Wall Street Journal

Camelopardalis.—This constellation first appears on a celestial planisphere published by Bartschius in the year 1624.

From Project Gutenberg