View synonyms for primum mobile

primum mobile

[ pree-moom moh-bi-le; English prahy-muhm mob-uh-lee, pree- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Latin.

(in Ptolemaic astronomy) the outermost of the 10 concentric spheres of the universe, making a complete revolution every 24 hours and causing all the others to do likewise.
prime mover.

primum mobile

/ ˈpraɪmʊm ˈməʊbɪlɪ /

a prime mover
astronomy the outermost empty sphere in the Ptolemaic system that was thought to revolve around the earth from east to west in 24 hours carrying with it the inner spheres of the planets, sun, moon, and fixed stars

Literally, “first moving (thing)”

C15: from Medieval Latin: first moving (thing)

With him prayer was a thing of absolute necessity, and resignation to the eternal decrees the primum mobile of all.

The notion that there must be something immovable which moves all other things, is the old scholastic error of a primum mobile.

The primum mobile of the new system was Motion, in distinction from the Rest which marked the old monastic retreats.

In this effort lies its only possible unity, its primum mobile, its one clearly defined object from beginning to end.

Here it clearly refers to the primum mobile; it often applies to the whole expanse of the heavens.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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