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

In → adaptive optics, a point source created on the sky by means of a laser beam in order to correct for the → atmospheric turbulence. A laser tuned to the wavelength of 589 nm will excite sodium atoms at an altitude of ~ 100 km in the Earth's atmosphere, producing an artificial "star."

→ artificial; → star.

A family of fibrous mineral silicates that are incombustible, resistant to chemicals, and do not conduct electricity. In the past asbestos has been widely used for a range of fireproof materials and in the building industry. Asbestos causes very serious health problems if the fibers are inhaled (bronchial cancer, laryngeal cancer, and mesothelioma).

M.E. albeston, abestus, from O.Fr. abeste, abestos, from L. asbestos "quicklime," from Gk. asbestos, literally "inextinguishable," from → a- "not" + sbestos, verbal adjective from sbennynai "to quench."

Panbe-ye kuhi, literally "mountain cotton," from panbé, → cotton, + kuhi "pertaining to mountains," from kuh, → mountain.
Panbe-ye nasuz, literally "non-inflammable cotton," from panbé + nasuz "non-inflammable," from na- "not," → a- + suz-, suxtan, → burn.

1) To move, climb, or go upward; mount; rise.
2) To rise to a higher point, rank, or degree; proceed from an inferior to a superior degree or level (Dictionary.com).

M.E. ascenden, from L. ascendere "to climb up, mount," from → ad- "to" + scandere "to climb," → scan.

Farâzidan, from farâz "above, over, aloft."

1a) A position or condition of dominance, superiority or control.
1b) An ancestor; forebear.
2a) Ascending; rising.
2b) superior; predominant.

→ ascend.

The point in an orbit where the orbiting body crosses a reference plane, such as the ecliptic or the celestial equator, going from south to north. The celestial longitude of the ascending node is one of the elements of the orbit. → descending node.

→ ascend; → -ing; → node.

The act of ascending; ascent.

Verbal noun of → ascend; → -tion.

A standard code or protocol for displaying → characters as numbers. Each alphabetic, numeric, or special character is represented with a 7-bit binary number (a string of seven 0s or 1s). 128 possible characters are defined. For example, the ASCII code for uppercase C is 67 and for lowercase c is 99. Most computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible to transfer data from one computer to another.

Short for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

The powdery residue that remains after something is burnt. → ashen light.

M.E. a(i)sshe; O.E. asce, æsce; cf. Frisian esk, Dutch asch, O.N., O.H.G. aska, Ger. Asche; akin to Gk. azein "to dry up, parch," L. arere "be dry," → arid, Skt. asa- "ashes," PIE root *as- "to burn, glow."

Xâkestar, ultimately from Proto-Iranian *aika-âtar- literally "fire dust," from *aika- (Pers. xâk "dust, earth," → soil) + *ātar- (Pers. âzar, âtaš, → fire); cf. Malâyeri xâkesar, Qasrâni xâksar.

The faint glow occasionally observed on the unlit area of Venus in its crescent phase. Its cause is not known with certainty, but it might result from bombardment of atmospheric atoms and molecules by energetic particles and radiation, as with terrestrial airglow.

→ ash; → light.

The largest of the world's continents (about 41,440,000 sq. km.), bounded by Europe and the Arctic, Pacific, and Indian oceans.

From L. Asia, from Gk. Asia, apparently first used by Herodotus (about 440 BC) in reference to Anatolia or to the Persian Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt. Of uncertain origin.

The apparent position of a body in the Solar System relative to the Sun, as seen from Earth. The main aspects are conjunction, greatest elongation, opposition, and quadrature.

Aspect from L. aspectus "looking, view, appearance," p.p. of aspicere "to look at," from ad- "to" + specere "to look," cognate with Gk. skeptesthai "to examine, consider," Av. spas- "to watch, look," Skt. spaz "to see, behold, look at;" PIE *spek- "to observe, look".

Nemud from nemudan "to show, demonstrate, exhibit, appear"

A series of experiments carried out in the early 1980s by Alain Aspect and his colleagues that showed the violation of → Bell's inequality. Accordingly, quantum phenomena cannot be described by the → hidden variable theories, contrarily to the → EPR paradox interpretation.

Alain Aspect (1947-); → experiment. Aspect et al., 1982, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 49, No. 25 and references therein.

1) Roughness or unevenness of surface.
2) Physics: A microscopic projection on a metal surface resulting from normal surface finishing processes.
3) Geology: A site on a → fault surface where the two sides are held together by an area of higher strength than the areas surrounding it. When the stress on the fault exceeds the strength of the asperity, the asperity fails as an → earthquake.

M.E. asperite, from O.Fr. asperité "difficulty, painful situation," from L. asperitas, from asper "rough, harsh," of unknown origin.

From zaft "thick, gross, rude," (Steingass, Dehxodâ), + noun suffix -i.

A company of persons gathered for a common reason, as for deliberation, legislation, worship, or entertainment.
The act of assembling; the state of being assembled.

M.E. assemblee, from M.Fr., from O.Fr., from assembler "to gather together."

Hamâyeš, from ham- "together," → com- + âyeš "coming," from ây- present stem of âmadan "to come;" O.Pers. aitiy "goes;" Av. ay- "to go, to come," aēiti "goes;" cf. Skt. e- "to come near," eti "arrival;" Gk. eimi "I go," L. ire "to go, walk," eo "I go;" Tokharian AB i-; PIE *ei- "to go, to walk."

To state with assurance, confidence, or force; state strongly or positively; affirm.

From L. assertus, p.p. of asserere/adserere "to claim, lay claim to, declare," from → ad- "to" + serere "to join together, range in a row," from PIE root *ser- (2) "to line up."

Sotvârdan from sotvâr, ostovâr "firm, reliable," Mid.Pers. awestwâr, ôst "firm, reliable," O.Pers./Av. sta- "to stand; set," (Av. hištaiti, cf. Skt. sthâ- "to stand," Gk. histemi "put, place, weigh," stasis "a standing still," L. stare "to stand"); PIE base *sta- "to stand."

The act of asserting or something that is asserted.

→ assert; → -tion.

1) To give or allocate; allot.
2) To give out or announce as a task.
3) To designate; name; specify (Dictionary.com).

M.E. assignen, from O.Fr. assiginer "assign; appoint legally; allot," from L. assignare "to mark out, to allot by sign," from → ad- "to" + signare "to make a sign," from signum "mark," → sign

Nešârdan, from neš, → sign, + nuance suffix -âr.

1) An appointment for a meeting.
2) The act of assigning; → assignment (Dictionary.com).

Verbal noun of → assign.

1) An act of assigning; appointment.
2) Something assigned, as a particular task or duty.
3) A position of responsibility, post of duty, or the like, to which one is appointed (Dictionary.com).

Verbal noun of → assign.

1) (v.tr.) To join or connect together; to bring together or into relationship in any of various intangible ways (as in memory or imagination). → dissociate.
2) (v.intr.) To come or be together as partners, friends, or join with other parts.
3) A person joined with another or others in business or at work; something that usually accompanies another thing.

M.E. associat "associated," from L. associatus, p.p. of associare "to unite," from ad- + sociare "to join," from socius "ally, companion" ("follower"); PIE base *sek^w- "to follow."

Âhazidan, from â- prefix + hazidan "to associate, accompany, follow," from Av. hac-, hax- "to associate, follow, accompany" (hacenay- "getting together, association," haxay-, hašy-, haš- "friend"), hacaiti "follows;" hacā "from, out of;" O.Pers. hacā "from" (Mid.Pers. hâz- "to lead, guide," hac "from;" Mod.Pers. az "from"); PIE base *sek^w- "to follow;" cf. Skt. sac- "to be associated or united with," sácate "accompanies, follows," sácā "with;" Gk. hepesthai "to follow;" L. sequi "to follow."
Âhazgâr, from âhaz- present stem of âhazidan + agent noun suffix -gâr, → -or, as in âmuzgâr, parhizgâr, sâzgâr, âmizgâr, sepuzgâr.