An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

The factor by which the angular diameter of an object is apparently increased when viewed through an optical instrument to that of the object viewed by the unaided eye.

Verbal noun of → magnify.

A thing or device that magnifies.

From → magnify + suffix -ir.

Bozognemâ, agent noun of bozorg nemudan, → magnify.

To increase the apparent size of, as a lens does.

From O.Fr. magnifier, from L. magnificare "esteem greatly, extol," from magnificus "splendid," from magnus "great" + root of facere "to make."

From bozorg "large, magnificent, great" + nemudan "to show." The first element from Mid.Pers. vazurg "great, big, high, lofty;" O.Pers. vazarka- "great;" Av. vazra- "club, mace" (Mod.Pers. gorz "mace"); cf. Skt. vájra- "(Indra's) thunderbolt," vaja- "strength, speed;" L. vigere "be lively, thrive," velox "fast, lively," vegere "to enliven," vigil "watchful, awake;" P.Gmc. *waken (Du. waken; O.H.G. wahhen; Ger. wachen "to be awake;" E. wake); PIE base *weg- "to be strong, be lively." The second element nemudan from Mid.Pers. nimūdan, nimây- "to show," from O.Pers./Av. ni- "down; into," → ni-, + māy- "to measure," → display.
Bozorgidan infinitive from bozorg + -idan.

A lens or lens system that produces an enlarged virtual image of an object placed near its front focal point. According to Enoch (1998, SPIE vol. 3299, p. 424), the earliest lenses identified are from the IV/V Dynasties of Egypt, dating back to about 4,500 years ago (e.g., the eyes of the Louvre statue Le scribe accroupi and other examples located in the Cairo Museum). For more information see → burning sphere.

Magnifying, verbal adj. of → magnify; → glass.

Zarrebin, from zarré "a minute thing," → particle, + bin "seer; to see" (present stem of didan; Mid.Pers. wyn-; O.Pers. vain- "to see;" Av. vaēn- "to see;" Skt. veda "I know;" Gk. oida "I know," idein "to see;" L. videre "to see;" PIE base *weid- "to know, to see").

The ratio between the focal lengths of the objective and ocular in a telescope.

Magnifying, verbal adj. of → magnify; → power.

A measure of brightness in astronomy on a → logarithmic scale in which a difference of five magnitudes represents a difference of 100 times in brightness. In this scale the lower a magnitude, the brighter the object. The faintest magnitude reached by → unaided eye is 6.

From L. magnitudo "greatness, bulk, size," from magnus "great," cognate with Pers. meh "great, large" (Mid.Pers. meh, mas; Av. maz-, masan-, mazant- "great, important," mazan- "greatness, majesty," mazišta- "greatest;" cf. Skt. mah-, mahant-; Gk. megas; PIE *meg- "great") + -tudo, suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives and participles.

Borz "height, magnitude" (it occurs also in the name of the mountain chain Alborz), related to boland "high," bâlâ "up, above, high, elevated, height," berg "mountain, hill" (Mid.Pers. buland "high;" O.Pers. baršan- "height;" Av. barəz- "high, mount," barezan- "height;" cf. Skt. bhrant- "high;" L. fortis "strong" (Fr. & E. force); O.E. burg, burh "castle, fortified place," from P.Gmc. *burgs "fortress;" Ger. Burg "castle," Goth. baurgs "city," E. burg, borough, Fr. bourgeois, bourgeoisie, faubourg); PIE base *bhergh- "high"). Qadr, from Ar.

A scale for measuring and comparing the brightness of astronomical objects.

→ magnitude; → scale.

A survey in which the observed objects are bighter than a given → apparent magnitude.

→ magnitude; → limited; → volume.

The force exerted on a spinning object moving through a fluid medium in virtue of → Bernoulli's theorem. The Magnus force can deviate a football from its path when a player strikes it so that it spins about an axis perpendicular to the flow of air around it. As the spinning ball moves through the air, it will create a pressure difference between its two sides. The air travels faster relative to the centre of the ball where its periphery is moving in the same direction as the airflow. This reduces the pressure according Bernoulli's theorem. The opposite effect happens on the other side of the ball, where the air travels slower relative to the centre of the ball. There is therefore an imbalance in the forces that will curve the ball's trajectory.

Named after Heinrich Gustav Magnus (1802-1870), a German chemist and physicist; → force.

Any of various passerine birds of the genus Pica, especially Pica pica, having a black-and-white plumage, long tail, and a chattering call (Ditionary.com).

From Mag diminutive of Margaret, used to signify an excessively talkative person + pie the earlier name of the bird, from O.Fr. pie, from L. pica "magpie," feminine of picus "woodpecker."

Kaliž, variant of (Dehxodâ) kalâžé, kalâcé, qalivâš, qalivâj, (Qäyen, Gonâbâd) kaliždak, (Xorâsâni) kelidjak, (Dari Yazd) kelociri, (Bardesir) kerâcik, related to kalâq + dimunitive suffix -iž, vaeiants -iz, -ak.

Chief in size, extent, or importance; leading; → principal.

From M.E. meyn, mayn "strength, power," from O.E. mægen "power, strength, force," from P.Gmc. *maginam- "power," from *mag- "to be able, have power."

Farist, literally "foremost" (cf. Mid.Pers. frahist "main, principal, first, much"), from far-, Mid.Pers. fra-; O.Pers. fra- "forward, forth;" Av. frā "forth," pouruua- "first"; cf. Skt. pūrva- "first," pra- "before, formerly;" Gk. pro; L. pro; O.E. fyrst "foremost," superlative of fore, E. fore + -est superlative suffix, Mid.Pers. -ist, -išt-; Av. -išta-, cf. Skt. -istha-, Gk. -istos, O.H.G. -isto, -osto, O.E. -st, -est, -ost.

Same as → main lobe.

→ main; → beam.

The area between → Mars and → Jupiter where most of the → asteroids in our → solar system are found.

→ main; → belt.

In the n x n → matrix , the entities a₁₁, a₂₂, ..., a_nn.

→ main; → diagonal.

The lobe in the reception pattern of a radio telescope that includes the region of the maximum received power. Also called major lobe and main beam.

→ main; → lobe.

A thin strand of material encircling Jupiter; the main component in → Jupiter's ring system of three parts. The diffuse innermost boundary begins at approximately 123,000 km. The main ring's outer radius is found to be at 128,940 km,

→ main; → ring.

An evolutionary stage in the life of a star when it generates its energy by the conversion of hydrogen to helium via → nuclear fusion in its core. Stars spend 90% of their life on the main sequence. On the → Hertzsprung-Russell diagram it appears as a track running from top left (high temperature, high luminosity, high mass) to lower right (low temperature, low luminosity, low mass). See also → zero age main sequence (ZAMS), → terminal age main sequence (TAMS).

→ main; → sequence.

The method of determining the distance to a star cluster by overlaying its main sequence on the theoretical zero-age main sequence and noting the difference between the cluster's apparent magnitude and the zero-age main sequence's absolute magnitude.

→ main sequence; → fitting.

The point on the → Hertzsprung-Russell diagram of a star cluster at which stars begin to leave the → main sequence and move toward the → red giant branch. The main-sequence turnoff is a measure of age. In general, the older a star cluster, the fainter the main-sequence turnoff. Same as → turnoff point.

→ main sequence; → turnoff.

Greater in size, extent, or importance.

M.E. majour, from O.Fr., from L. major, irregular comparative of magnus "large, great," cognate with Pers. meh "large, great," as below.

Mehin comparative and superlative of meh "great, large" (Mid.Pers. meh, mas; Av. maz-, masan-, mazant- "great, important," mazan- "greatness, majesty," mazišta- "greatest;" cf. Skt. mah-, mahant-; Gk. megas; PIE *meg- "great") + -in superlative suffix.