atlas

atlas · noun¹

1. Latin · borrowed fromAtlas
2. English todayatlas

Borrowed from Latin Atlas, from the name of the Ancient Greek mythological figure Ἄτλας (Átlas, “Bearer (of the Heavens)”), from τλῆναι (tlênai, “to suffer”, “to endure”, “to bear”). The sense referring to books of maps comes from the Atlas of Mercator, which he named thus in honor of Atlas, who was supposed to be skillful in astronomy and the doctrine of the sphere. The sense referring to the vertebra reflects that the spine carries the globe of the cranium (the neck carries the head).

atlas · noun²

1. Arabic · borrowed fromأَطْلَس“satin”
2. English todayatlas

From Arabic أَطْلَس (ʔaṭlas, “satin”).

Atlas · proper noun, noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*telh₂-“bear, undergo, endure”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromἌτλας
3. Latin · borrowed fromĀ̆tlās
4. English todayAtlas

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.

Atlas · proper noun⁴

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἌτλας
2. French · borrowed fromAtlas
3. English todayAtlas

From French Atlas. From the Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), stemming from the belief that the mountain range is actually the body of the Titan Atlas after being turned to stone. The Berber languages exist in the region of the Atlas Mountains.

Atlas · proper noun⁵

Alteration of ATLAS

Words from the same roots