An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

A solid figure whose six bases are → parallelograms, opposite pairs being identical and parallel.

From Gk. parallelepipedon, from parallelos, → parallel + epipedon "plane surface," from neuter of epipedos "flat," from → epi- + pedon "ground," cognate with L. ped-, pes, → foot.

Parâsuruyé, from parâsu, → parallel, + ruyé, → surface. Lowzivâr, from lowzi, → rhombus + -vâr, → -oid.

1) A long tube of metal, plastic, etc, used to conduct water, oil, gas, etc.
2) A device consisting of a tube used for smoking.

M.E., O.E. pipe "musical wind instrument; tube," from V.L. *pipa "a pipe," from L. pipare "to chirp, to peep," of imitative origin (cf. It. pipa, Fr. pipe, Ger. Pfeife, Du. pijp).

1) Lulé, → tube.
2) Pip loan from Fr., as above.

An extended complex of → molecular clouds in the constellation → Ophiuchus, apparently shaped like a smoker's pipe, about 5° in size and located about 5° away from the → Galactic center. It has a mass of 10⁴ solar masses, lies at a distance of about 130 pc, and is among the closest molecular clouds to Earth. The Pipe Nebula includes a number of → dark nebulae, including Barnard 59, 65, 66, 67, 77, 244, and 256. It is of particular interest because of the almost complete lack of → star formation within it. This cloud is an extremely rare example of a relatively massive molecular cloud that may be in a state of evolution prior to the onset of significant star-forming activity.

→ pipe; → nebula.

1) A long tubular conduit or series of pipes used to transport crude oil, natural gas, water, etc., often underground and over great distances.
2) A channel or process along which something passes or is provided at a steady rate.

→ pipe; → line.