Thales

American  

[they-leez] / ˈθeɪ liz /

noun

1. c640–546? b.c., Greek philosopher, born in Miletus.

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Thales British  

/ ˈθeɪliːz /

noun

1. ?624–?546 _bc , Greek philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer, born in Miletus. He held that water was the origin of all things and he predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 _bc

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Thales Scientific  

/ thā′lēz /

1. Greek philosopher who was considered by later Greek writers to be a founder of geometry and abstract astronomy. He is said to have accurately predicted a solar eclipse in 585 bce, although this and certain other stories associated with Thales have been questioned by modern scholars.

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Thales Cultural  

1. An ancient philosopher of Greece, called by some the first genuine Greek philosopher. He lived about 600 years before Jesus and about 150 years before Socrates.

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Discover More

Thales is known for predicting an eclipse and thus contributing to the idea that the heavens were separate from the gods.

Example Sentences

Thales, formerly known as Thomson-CSF, and Zuma face more than a dozen charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Zuma is accused of taking bribes from Thales in exchange for protecting the firm from an investigation into the deal, when he was deputy president.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

These are made by the French firm Thales at its factory in east Belfast.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

European defense giant Thales sells drones that use AI to sift through sonar data and find mines faster.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

“Nor,” as Saint Augustine ruefully complained, “did he, any more than Thales, attribute the cause of all this ceaseless activity to a divine mind.”

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan