Eratosthenes

[ er-uh-tos-thuh-neez ]

/ ˌɛr əˈtɒs θəˌniz /

noun

276?–195? b.c., Greek mathematician and astronomer at Alexandria.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for eratosthenes

The statements made by Eratosthenes in the first book of his Geography, require some such correction as this.
The Geography of Strabo, Volume I (of 3)|Strabo
A second path, which has lately been struck out for the reduction of Manetho's dynasties, is based upon the list of Eratosthenes.
The History of Antiquity, Vol. I (of VI)|Max Duncker
Eratosthenes of Cyrene, the inventor of astronomical geography, was at this time the head of the mathematical school.
History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. To The Present Time, Volume 10 (of 12)|S. Rappoport
Like the measurements of Aristarchus and Eratosthenes, this calculation of Alhazen is simple enough in theory.
A History of Science, Volume 2(of 5)|Henry Smith Williams

He measured the obliquity of the ecliptic, and agreed with Eratosthenes.
History of Astronomy|George Forbes

British Dictionary definitions for eratosthenes

Eratosthenes

/ (ˌɛrəˈtɒsθɪˌniːz) /

noun

?276–?194 bc, Greek mathematician and astronomer, who calculated the circumference of the earth by observing the angle of the sun's rays at different places

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

Science definitions for eratosthenes

Eratosthenes

[ ĕr′ə-tŏs′thə-nēz′ ]

276?-194 bce

Greek mathematician and astronomer who is best known for making an accurate estimate of the circumference of the Earth by measuring the angle of the Sun's rays at two different locations at the same time. He also invented a method for listing the prime numbers that are less than any given number.

Biography

Had he been born and raised farther north or south, the ancient astronomer Eratosthenes might never have come to think about the circumference of the Earth. It so happened that in his hometown of Syene (now Aswan), Egypt-which lies just north of the Tropic of Cancer-the Sun's rays were almost exactly perpendicular to the ground at noon on the summer solstice. One year in Alexandria, about 500 miles away, he noticed that the Sun's rays hit the ground at a deviation of about 7 degrees from the vertical on the same date and time. He believed, correctly, that the Sun was very distant and that its rays were essentially parallel when they hit the Earth. Therefore, he reasoned that the difference between the angles of incidence in Syene and Alexandria could only be due to curvature of the Earth's surface. Fairly basic geometry allowed him to use these figures to calculate the circumference of the Earth. Although one usually reads that his calculation was very close to that of modern scientists, we do not know this for certain; the units of length that he used (called stadia) were not fixed throughout the ancient world, and there is no record of precisely which length he had in mind. His measurement could have been anywhere from 0.5 to 17 percent off from modern measurements. Whatever the case, Eratosthenes's calculations were remarkably good, not only for being the very first known measurement of the Earth's circumference, but also for being made when not everybody even thought the Earth was round.