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geodesy

[ jee-od-uh-see ]

noun

  1. the branch of applied mathematics that deals with the measurement of the shape and area of large tracts of country, the exact position of geographical points, and the curvature, shape, and dimensions of the earth.


geodesy

/ dʒɪˈɒdɪsɪ; ˌdʒiːəʊˈdɛtɪks /

noun

  1. the branch of science concerned with determining the exact position of geographical points and the shape and size of the earth
“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


geodesy

/ jē-ŏdĭ-sē /

  1. The scientific study of the size and shape of the Earth, its field of gravity, and such varying phenomena as the motion of the magnetic poles and the tides.


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Derived Forms

  • geˈodesist, noun
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Other Words From

  • ge·ode·sist noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of geodesy1

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 )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of geodesy1

C16: from French géodésie, from Greek geōdaisia, from geo- + daiein to divide
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Example Sentences

In 1987, the International Astronomical Union and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics established the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Services to monitor Earth’s rotation and maintain global time.

So we shall put the question otherwise; can geodesy aid us the better to know nature?

And to-day, a century and a half after the victory of the Newtonians, think you geodesy has nothing more to teach us?

Geodesy can therefore weigh them from afar, so to speak, and tell us of their distribution.

We reach what may be called the second heroic period of geodesy.

The theodolites used in geodesy vary in pattern and in size—the horizontal circles ranging from 10 in.

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geodesic linegeodetic