Copernicus

American  

[koh-pur-ni-kuhs, kuh-] / koʊˈpɜr nɪ kəs, kə- /

noun

1. Nicolaus Mikolaj Kopernik, 1473–1543, Polish astronomer who promulgated the now accepted theory that the earth and the other planets move around the sun the Copernican System.

2. a crater in the second quadrant of the face of the moon, having an extensive ray system: about 56 miles (90 kilometers) in diameter from crest to crest with walls rising about 12,000 feet (3,650 meters) from its floor; having several central mountains the highest being about 2,400 feet (730 meters).

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Copernicus ¹ British  

/ kəˈpɜːnɪkəs /

noun

1. Nicolaus (ˌnɪkəˈleɪəs). Polish name Mikolaj Kopernik. 1473–1543, Polish astronomer, whose theory of the solar system (the Copernican system ) was published in 1543

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Copernicus ² British  

/ kəˈpɜːnɪkəs /

noun

1. a conspicuous crater on the moon, over 4000 metres deep and 90 kilometres in diameter, from which a system of rays emanates

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Copernicus Scientific  

/ kō-pûr′nə-kəs /

1. Polish astronomer whose theory that Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun provided the foundation for modern astronomy. His model displaced earlier theories that positioned Earth at the center of the solar system with all objects orbiting it.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Copernican
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Copernicus

First recorded in 1580–90; Latinized form of Kopernik, Koppernik, Koppernigk

Example Sentences

Oil tanker Bella 1 was spotted at Kharg Island on Aug. 19 by the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

The past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record, according to Copernicus.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026

These included three observational products from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Copernicus Marine, and NOAA/NCEI, along with an ocean reanalysis known as CIGAR-RT.

From Science Daily • Jan. 14, 2026

"If we go twenty years into the future and we look back at this period of the mid-2020s, we will see these years as relatively cool," said Dr Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus.

From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026

Osiander, in his anonymous introduction to Copernicus’s On the Revolutions, insisted that Copernicus should only be read as presenting an hypothesis, not as describing how the world really is.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton