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View synonyms for primum mobile

primum mobile

[ pree-moom moh-bi-le; English prahy-muhm mob-uh-lee, pree- ]

noun

, Latin.
  1. (in Ptolemaic astronomy) the outermost of the 10 concentric spheres of the universe, making a complete revolution every 24 hours and causing all the others to do likewise.


primum mobile

/ ˈpraɪmʊm ˈməʊbɪlɪ /

noun

  1. a prime mover
  2. astronomy the outermost empty sphere in the Ptolemaic system that was thought to revolve around the earth from east to west in 24 hours carrying with it the inner spheres of the planets, sun, moon, and fixed stars
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of primum mobile1

Literally, “first moving (thing)”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of primum mobile1

C15: from Medieval Latin: first moving (thing)
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Example Sentences

“Hellgate” is now the orifice in the primum mobile towards the empyrean.

Moral virtue is with me a primum mobile in all things.

Here it clearly refers to the primum mobile; it often applies to the whole expanse of the heavens.

I need not say that your correspondent is quite right in referring the words first moved to the primum mobile.

Hostility to the foreigner is the primum mobile of their local policy.

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primulaceousprimus