geodesy
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- geodesist noun
Etymology
Origin of geodesy
1560–70; < French géodésie < Greek geōdaisía, equivalent to geō- geo- + daí ( ein ) to divide + -sia, variant of -ia -ia (generalized from stems ending in t )
Explanation
Geodesy is the scientific discipline that applies mathematics to precisely measure the earth, including things like its shape, gravity, and orientation in space. People who work in the field of geodesy may be called geodesists or geodetic surveyors. They make sophisticated measurements that take into consideration factors like the curvature of the earth. Although geodesy and traditional land surveying (typically done to determine property boundaries or locations for buildings) overlap, geodetic surveyors use more sophisticated tools, such as GPS satellite systems and laser scanners, and focus on a more global, rather than local, perspective. They construct 3D models of the planet and how it changes.
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.
The researchers hail from all manner of different fields, including ecology, plant sciences, soil sciences, computer science, robotics, geodesy and agricultural economics.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2024
There are already facilities at the Technical University of Munich, and they’ll be merged into an interdisciplinary center for aviation, aerospace, and geodesy, which is the discipline for measuring Earth.
From The Verge • Oct. 20, 2018
“We should be pretty safe for now,” says Martin Vermeer, a professor of geodesy at Aalto University in Helsinki, when talking about the effects of sea level rise in his home country.
From Slate • Aug. 7, 2017
He published important contributions on astronomy, meteoritics, atmospheric science, climatology, palaeoclimatology, geology, geophysics, geodesy and glaciology.
From Nature • Oct. 6, 2015
From hence also is the geodesy following drawne.
From The Way To Geometry by Bedwell, William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.