saros

¹

[sair-os]

noun

Astronomy.

1. the period of 223 synodic months, equaling 6585.32 days or 18 years, 11.32 days (or 10.32 days if 5 leap years occur in the interval), after which eclipses repeat but are shifted 120° west.

Saros

²

[sahr-ohs, -aws]

noun

1. Gulf of, an inlet of the Aegean, N of the Gallipoli Peninsula. 37 miles (60 km) long; 22 miles (35 km) wide.

Saros

¹

/ ˈsɑːrɒs /

noun

1. an inlet of the Aegean in NW Turkey, north of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Length: 59 km (37 miles). Width: 35 km (22 miles)

saros

²

/ ˈseɪrɒs, səˈrɒnɪk /

noun

1. a cycle of about 18 years 11 days (6585.32 days) in which eclipses of the sun and moon occur in the same sequence and at the same intervals as in the previous such cycle

Other Word Forms

• saronic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of saros¹

1605–15; < Greek sáros ≪ Akkadian shār

Word History and Origins

Origin of saros¹

C19: from Greek, from Babylonian šāru 3600 (years); modern astronomical use apparently based on mistaken interpretation of šāru as a period of 18 1/ 2 years