great circle (of a sphere)
1Great circle of a sphere — Great Great (gr[=a]t), a. [Compar. {Greater}; superl. {Greatest}.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre[ a]t; akin to OS. & LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, G. gross. Cf. {Groat} the coin.] 1. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous;… …
2Great circle sailing — Great Great (gr[=a]t), a. [Compar. {Greater}; superl. {Greatest}.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre[ a]t; akin to OS. & LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, G. gross. Cf. {Groat} the coin.] 1. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous;… …
3Great circle — For fictional interstellar organization called Great Circle, see Andromeda (novel). A great circle divides the sphere in two equal hemispheres A great circle, also known as a Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a… …
4great circle — A circle on the surface of the sphere (earth) whose center and radii are those of the sphere itself. Only one great circle may be drawn through two places that are not diametrically opposite on the surface of a sphere. The shortest distance… …
5Circle of the sphere — Circle Cir cle (s[ e]r k l), n. [OE. cercle, F. cercle, fr. L. circulus (Whence also AS. circul), dim. of circus circle, akin to Gr. kri kos, ki rkos, circle, ring. Cf. {Circus}, {Circum }.] [1913 Webster] 1. A plane figure, bounded by a single… …
6great circle — n. 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… …
7great circle — ► NOUN ▪ a circle on the surface of a sphere which lies in a plane passing through the sphere s centre, especially as representing the shortest path between two given points on the sphere …
8great circle — great′ cir′cle n. 1) math. a circle on a sphere such that the plane containing the circle passes through the center of the sphere 2) naut. geo a circle of which a segment represents the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the… …
9Great Circle — *Great circle is a circle on the surface of a sphere. *Great Circle is also a fictional organization from Andromeda Nebula, a novel by Ivan Yefremov …
10Great-circle distance — The great circle distance is the shortest distance between any two points on the surface of a sphere measured along a path on the surface of the sphere (as opposed to going through the sphere s interior). Because spherical geometry is rather… …
