Etymology

Mercator projection

Today it means: An orthomorphic map projection, in which meridians appear at right-angles to the equator, and lines of latitude are horizontal lines whose distance from each other increases with distance from the equator. Full definition →

Latin mercātor
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frommercātor“merchant”
  2. English todayMercator projection

From Gerardus Mercator, Latinized name of Gerard de Cremer (1512–1594), Flemish cartographer and mathematician, from Latin mercātor (“merchant”).

Words from the same roots

Latinmercātor all →

Mercatormercatorism

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.