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

To cause to draw near or adhere by physical force.

L. attractus, p.p. of attrahere "to draw, to attract," from ad- "to" + trahere "to pull, draw."

Darkašidan, from dar- "in, into" + kašidan "to draw, attract," → galaxy.

The act or capability of attracting. A physical force (gravitational, electric, magnetic, etc.) exerted by material bodies.

Attraction, n. from → attract.

Having the quality of attracting.

Verbal adj. from → attract.

A physical force (→ gravitational, → electric, → magnetic, etc.) by which a body attracts another.

→ attractive; → force.

The physical body that attracts. → Great Attractor.

→ attract; → -or.

A point toward which a force on a body is always directed.

→ center; → attraction.

The force that pulls material bodies toward one another because of → gravitation.

→ gravitational; → attraction.

A hypothesized large concentration of mass (about 10¹⁶  → solar masses), some hundred million → light-years from Earth, in the direction of the → Centaurus → supercluster, that seems to be affecting the motions of many nearby galaxies by virtue of its gravity.

→ great; → attractor.