gnomon
Americannoun
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the raised part of a sundial that casts the shadow; a style.
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an early astronomical instrument consisting of a vertical shaft, column, or the like, for determining the altitude of the sun or the latitude of a position by measuring the length of its shadow cast at noon.
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Geometry. (formerly) the part of a parallelogram that remains after a similar parallelogram has been taken away from one of its corners.
noun
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the stationary arm that projects the shadow on a sundial
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a geometric figure remaining after a parallelogram has been removed from one corner of a larger parallelogram
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gnomon
1540–50; < Latin gnōmōn pin of a sundial < Greek gnṓmōn literally, interpreter, discerner
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 visitors hover over the work, functioning as a vertical gnomon, their shadows fall onto one of the panels, depending on the time of day.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2023
The pole serves as a gnomon, the part of a sundial that casts a shadow to denote time.
From Washington Post • Apr. 17, 2020
A gnomon is the perpendicular part of a sundial, the part that casts a shadow.
From Washington Post • Jan. 10, 2018
No moving shadow, no gnomon, no sun-dial would be possible.
From Astronomical Myths Based on Flammarions's History of the Heavens by Blake, John F.
This depends on the theory of the gnomon, which at first had an arithmetical signification corresponding to the geometrical use of it in Euclid, Book II.
From Archimedes Men of Science by Heath, Thomas Little
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.
