: a male figure used like a caryatid as a supporting column or pilaster
called alsotelamon
Illustration of atlas
atlas 5
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Word History of Atlas
In Greek mythology, giants ruled the world in an early age. Their rule was overthrown after a mighty battle with other gods. Atlas was one of these giants, and after their defeat, the story goes, he was forced to hold up the sky on his shoulders. In the 16th century, the Flemish mapmaker Gerardus Mercator published a collection of maps. On the title page he showed a picture of Atlas supporting his burden. Mercator gave the book the title Atlas. Later collections of maps included similar pictures of Atlas, and came to be called atlases.
Examples of atlas in a Sentence
a road atlas of the U.S.
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In the old allegorical star atlases, Virgo is holding a spike of wheat where Spica glows, evidently representing the harvest time which occurs in mid-October when the sun is passing that bright star.—Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 May 2025 By spring, 1920, af Klint resumed her atlas with apparent bleakness.—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 15 May 2025 While on the trails of these birds, Beehler pored over atlases, trawled local sightings reported on eBird and tracked down locations that were truly remote.—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025 That unfiltered curiosity makes Nash a natural presenter and an affable virtual traveling companion around the atlas of luxury real estate.—Kitty Finstad, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for atlas
Atlas was one of the giants of Greek mythology who ruled the world in an early age. Their rule was overthrown after a mighty battle with other gods. After his defeat, the story goes, Atlas was forced to hold up the sky on his shoulders. In the 16th century the Flemish mapmaker Gerardus Mercator published a collection of maps. On the title page he showed a picture of Atlas supporting his burden. Mercator gave the book the title Atlas. Later collections of maps included similar pictures of Atlas, and such books came to be called atlases.
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