| meteor | 1. Any phenomenon or appearance in the atmosphere, as clouds, rain, hail, snow, etc. "Hail, an ordinary meteor." (Bp. Hall) 2. Specif., A transient luminous body or appearance seen in the atmosphere, or in a more elevated region. "The vaulty top of heaven Figured quite o'er with burning meteors." (Shak) The term is especially applied to fireballs, and the masses of stone or other substances which sometimes fall to the earth; also to shooting stars and to ignes fatui. Meteors are often classed as: aerial meteors, winds, tornadoes, etc.; aqueous meteors, rain, hail, snow, dew, etc.; luminous meteors, rainbows, halos, etc.; and igneous meteors, lightning, shooting stars, and the like. Origin: F. Meteore, Gr, pl. Things in the air, fr. High in air, raised off the ground; beyond +, a suspension or hovering in the air, fr. To lift, raise up. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| meteoric | 1. Of or pertaining to a meteor, or to meteors; atmospheric, as, meteoric phenomena; meteoric stones. 2. Influenced by the weather; as, meteoric conditions. 3. Flashing; brilliant; transient; like a meteor; as, meteoric fame. "Meteoric politician." Meteoric iron, Meteoric stone. <chemical> See Meteorite. Meteoric paper, a substance of confervoid origin found floating in the air, and resembling bits of coarse paper; so called because formerly supposed to fall from meteors. Meteoric showers, periodical exhibitions of shooting stars, occuring about the 9th or 10th of August and 13th of November, more rarely in April and December, and also at some other periods. Origin: Cf. F. Meteorique. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteorism | Tympanites, the presence of gas in the abdomen or intestine. Origin: Gr. Meteorizein = to raise up (18 Nov 1997) |
| meteorite | <chemical> A mass of stone or iron which has fallen to the earth from space; an aerolite. Meteorites usually show a pitted surface with a fused crust, caused by the heat developed in their rapid passage through the earth's atmosphere. A meteorite may consist: 1. Of metallic iron, alloyed with a small percentage of nickel (meteoric iron, holosiderite). When etched this usually exhibits peculiar crystalline figures, called Widmanstatten figures. 2. Of a cellular mass of iron with imbedded silicates (mesosiderite or siderolite). 3. Of a stony mass of silicates with little iron (meteoric stone, sporadosiderite). 4. Of a mass without iron (asiderite). Origin: Cf. F. Meteorite. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteorograph | An instrument which registers meteorologic phases or conditions. Origin: Meteor + -graph. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteorographic | Of or pertaining to meteorography. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteorography | The registration of meteorological phenomena. Origin: Meteor. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteoroid | <astronomy> A small body moving through space, or revolving about the sun, which on entering the earth's atmosphere would be deflagrated and appear as a meteor. "These bodies [small, solid bodies] before they come into the air, I call meteoroids." (H. A. Newton) Origin: Meteor. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteoroids | Any solid objects moving in interplanetary space that are smaller than a planet or asteroid but larger than a molecule. Meteorites are any meteoroid that has fallen to a planetary surface. (12 Dec 1998) |
| meteorological | Of or pertaining to the atmosphere and its phenomena, or to meteorology. Meteorological table, Meteorological register, a table or register exhibiting the state of the air and its temperature, weight, dryness, moisture, motion, etc. Origin: Gr., cf. F. Meteorologique. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteorological factors | The atmospheric phenomena which pertain to climate and weather. (12 Dec 1998) |
| meteorologist | A person skilled in meteorology. Origin: Cf. F. Meteorologiste. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteorology | <study> The science which treats of the atmosphere and its phenomena, particularly of its variations of heat and moisture, of its winds, storms, etc. Origin: Gr.; + discourse: cf. F. Meteorologie. See Meteor. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteoromancy | A species of divination by meteors, chiefly by thunder and lightning, which was held in high estimation by the Romans. Origin: Meteor + -mancy: cf. F. Meteoromancie. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| meteorometer | An apparatus which transmits automatically to a central station atmospheric changes as marked by the anemometer, barometer, thermometer, etc. Origin: Meteor. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |