Mercator

[ mer-key-ter; for 1 also Flemish mer-kah-tawr ]

/ mərˈkeɪ tər; for 1 also Flemish mɛrˈkɑ tɔr /

noun

Ger·har·dus

[jer-hahr-duh s] /dʒərˈhɑr dəs/, Gerhard Kremer, 1512–94, Flemish cartographer and geographer.

adjective

noting, pertaining to, or according to the principles of a Mercator projection: a Mercator chart.

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

Examples from the Web for mercator

The blog was recently optioned by Mercator Pictures for scripted television development.
Get Famous or Your Money Back|Jessie Rosen|June 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Say distance is 1600 miles measured by dividers or secured by Mercator Sailing Method.
Lectures in Navigation|Ernest Gallaudet Draper
Distances are measured or laid down on a mercator chart by using the latitude border scale for the middle latitude.
Nautical Charts|G. R. Putnam
By means of the Epitome make a chart on Mercator's projection, and find out the distance from any known land.
Perseverance Island|Douglas Frazar

In the Asinaria, the Casina, and the Mercator, father and son are rivals for the affection of the same girl.
A History of Roman Literature|Harold North Fowler
The seventeenth century continued the impulse which was given to the science of geography by Mercator.
Robert Kerr's General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 18|William Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for mercator

Mercator

/ (mɜːˈkeɪtə) /

noun

Gerardus (dʒəˈrɑːdəs). Latinized name of Gerhard Kremer. 1512–94, Flemish cartographer and mathematician

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

Word Origin and History for mercator

Mercator

type of map projection, 1660s, invented by Flemish geographer Gerhard Kremer (1512-1594), who Latinized his surname, which means "dealer, tradesman," as Mercator (see merchant). He first used this type of map projection in 1568.

Science definitions for mercator

Mercator

[ mər-kā′tər ]

Gerhardus Originally Gerhard Kremer 1512-1594

Flemish cartographer who in 1568 developed the Mercator projection. In 1585 he began work on a book of maps of Europe, a project that was later completed by his son and published in 1595. As a result of the drawing of the Greek titan Atlas carrying the globe on his shoulders on the book's cover, the term atlas was subsequently applied to any book of maps.