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Gassendi

[ga-sahn-dee]

noun

  1. Pierre 1592–1655, French philosopher and scientist.



Gassendi

/ ɡasɛndɪ /

noun

  1. Pierre. 1592–1655, French physicist and philosopher, who promoted an atomic theory of matter

“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
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As a young man, the real Cyrano was taught by the idiosyncratic polymath Pierre Gassendi and mixed in free-thinking "libertine" circles.

From Salon

Gassendi had been strongly influenced by Galileo’s writings, and this example highlights the revolution that Galileo, more than anyone, brought about in the investigation of the world, by establishing the whole business of testing hypotheses by getting your hands dirty in experiments, instead of strolling about discussing ideas purely in philosophical terms.

Gassendi, who was born at Champtercier, in Provence, on 22 January 1592, became a Doctor of Theology in Avignon in 1616, took holy orders the following year and was teaching at the University of Aix when, in 1624, he published a book criticizing the Aristotelian world view.

Although he carried out many astronomical observations and the famous test of inertia using a galley, Gassendi’s most important contribution to science was the revival of atomism, which he presented most clearly in a book published in 1649.

But as if to prove the old adage that nobody is perfect, among other things Gassendi opposed Harvey’s ideas about the circulation of the blood.

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