great circle

great cir·cle

G g

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [greyt sur-kuh l]
- /greɪt ˈsɜr kəl/
- /ɡreɪt ˈsɜːkl/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [greyt sur-kuh l]
- /greɪt ˈsɜr kəl/

Definitions of great circle words

noun great circle a circle on a spherical surface such that the plane containing the circle passes through the center of the sphere. Compare small circle. 1
noun great circle a circle of which a segment represents the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the earth. 1
noun great circle a circular section of a sphere that has a radius equal to that of the sphere 0
noun great circle any circle described on the surface of a sphere by a plane which passes through the center of the sphere; specif., such a circle on the earth's surface: a course (great-circle course) plotted along a great circle of the earth is the shortest route between any two points on the earth's surface 0
noun great circle (geometry) A circle defined as the intersection of the surface of a sphere and a plane which passes through the centre of the sphere. 0
noun great circle A segment of such circle representing the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere. 0

See all 6 definitions of great circle

Information block about the term

Origin of great circle

First appearance:

before 1585

One of the 35% oldest English words

First recorded in 1585-95

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Great circle

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Great circle

great circle popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 37% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 61% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

great circle usage trend in Literature

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