Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

armillary

[ahr-muh-ler-ee, ahr-mil-uh-ree]
adjective
  1. consisting of hoops or rings.
Show More

Origin of armillary

1655–65; < Latin armill(a) bracelet, hoop (arm(us) shoulder (see arm1) + -illa diminutive suffix) + -ary
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for armillary

Historical Examples

  • On the left there is an armillary dial by F. Culpeper, of London.

    Chats on Old Copper and Brass

    Fred. W. Burgess

  • The horizon diameter of this armillary sphere is about 21 cm.

  • Armillary, r′mil-lar-i, or r-mil′lar-i, adj. resembling an armlet or bracelet: consisting of rings or circles.

  • The Biblioteca Barbarini of Rome possesses four armillary spheres, all appearing to be of the early seventeenth century.

  • This machine, he says, has a circumference of thirty-two feet, being constructed in the form of an armillary sphere.

British Dictionary definitions for armillary

armillary

adjective
  1. of or relating to bracelets
Show More

Word Origin

C17: from New Latin armillaris, from Latin armilla bracelet
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