tellurion

Meaning

An instrument used to show how the rotation of the Earth on its axis and its orbit around the Sun cause day and night and the seasons.

Synonyms

tellurian

tellurium

globe

terrestrial globe

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɛˈljʊə.ɹɪ.ən/

Etymology

From Latin tellūs (“earth, ground; the globe, planet Earth; country, land”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“ground, bottom”) + -ion (a Latinate suffix used in place of -ian (suffix meaning ‘one from, belonging to, relating to, or like’)), possibly coined by Benjamin Martin (baptized 1705; died 1782), an English lecturer, lexicographer, and maker of scientific instruments: see the quotation.