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Gnomon

 - 3 dictionary results

gno⋅mon

  [noh-mon]
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–noun
1. the raised part of a sundial that casts the shadow; a style.
2. 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.
3. Geometry. (formerly) the part of a parallelogram that remains after a similar parallelogram has been taken away from one of its corners.
Origin:
1540–50; < L gnōmōn pin of a sundial < Gk gnmōn lit., interpreter, discerner
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gno·mon   (nō'mŏn', -mən)   
n.  

  1. An object, such as the style of a sundial, that projects a shadow used as an indicator.

  2. The geometric figure that remains after a parallelogram has been removed from a similar but larger parallelogram with which it shares a corner.


[Latin gnōmōn, from Greek, interpreter, pointer of a sundial, from gignōskein, to know; see gnō- in Indo-European roots.]
gno·mon'ic, gno·mon'i·cal adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gnomon 
"pillar that tells time by the shadow it casts, esp. on a sundial," 1546, from L. gnomon, from Gk. gnomon "indicator," lit. "one who discerns," from gignoskein "to come to know" (see gnostic).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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