Copernican

[ koh-pur-ni-kuhn, kuh- ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Copernicus or his theories.
2. important and radically different; thoroughgoing:

   a Copernican revolution in modern art.

Other Words From

• post-Co·perni·can adjective
• pre-Co·perni·can adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Copernican¹

First recorded in 1660–70; Copernic(us) + -an

Example Sentences

The last of those, the Copernican, covers the last 1.1 billion years of history — long before mammals, let alone human beings, even existed.

From Salon

He imagines “a Copernican swerve in how we interact with nature,” one in which we come to imagine ourselves not as nature’s masters or stewards, but once again as part of its patterns and rhythms.

From Salon

Copernicus—or, rather, the “Copernican principle” that bears his name—tells us that we humans are nothing special.

From Scientific American

In 1616 the famous Galileo Galilei, another Copernican, was ordered by the church to cease his scientific investigations.

From Literature

So the multiverse is kind of a natural extrapolation of what we call the Copernican principle, which is that where we are and who we are and what we are shouldn’t be significant or aberrant.

From The Verge