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

The difference between a measured value of quantity and its true value.

→ observational; → error.

1) A particular time, especially as marked by certain circumstances or occurrences.
2) A special or important time, event, ceremony, celebration, etc.
3) A convenient or favorable time, → opportunity, or juncture (Dictionary.com).

M.E. occasioun from O.Fr. ochaison, ocasion "cause, reason, pretext; opportunity," from L. occasionem (nominative occasio) "appropriate time," from occasum, occasus "fall; sunset," p.p. of occidere "fall down, go down," from ob "down, away" + cadere "to fall," → case.

Âkatan, from prefix â- + katan "to fall," cf. Laki: katen "to fall," kat "he/she fell," beko! "fall!" (an insult); katyâ "fallen;" Lori: kat "event, error;" Kurd. (Soriani): kawtin "to fall, befall," kett "fallen;" Kurd. (Kurmanji): da.ketin "to fall down;" Lârestâni: kata "to fall;" Garkuyeyi: darkat, varkat "he/she fell (sudden death);" Gilaki (Langarud, Tâleš): katan "to fall," bakatam "I fell," dakatan "to fall (in a marsh, in a pit)," vakatan "to fall from tiredness, be exhausted," fakatan "to fall from (i.e., lose) reputation;" Tabari: dakətə "fallen," dakətən "to crash down," dakət.gu "stray cow;" Proto-Iranian *kat- "to fall;" cf. L. cadere "to fall," → case, Pers. kâté.

1) Occurring or appearing at irregular or infrequent intervals; occurring now and then.
2) Intended for supplementary use when needed.
3) Pertaining to, arising out of, or intended for the occasion (Dictionary.com).

→ occasion; → -al.

1) The process of occluding. Something that occludes.
2) Phonetics: Closure at some point in the vocal tract that blocks the flow of air in the production of an oral or nasal stop (TheFreeDictionary.com). 3) Chem.: An absorption process by which a substance adheres strongly to another.

→ occlude; → -tion.

The blocking of light from an astronomical object, such as a star, by another object, such as the Moon or an asteroid, that passes in front of it. Also, the period of time for which this blocking takes place. A → solar eclipse is a particular case of occultation. Determining the moment of stellar occultation by the Moon is used to improve our knowledge of the lunar orbit. Moreover, the occultation of stars by asteroids or planetary satellites provide important data for better measuring the sizes of the occulting bodies. See also → grazing occultation.

M.E. from L. occultation- "a hiding," from occultat(us), p.p. of occultare "to conceal, keep something hidden," frequentative of occulere "to cover over, conceal," from ob "over" + a verb related to celare "to hide," from PIE base *kel- "to conceal."

Forupušân, from foru- "down, downward; below; beneath" (Mid.Pers. frôt "down, downward;" O.Pers. fravata "forward, downward;" cf. Skt. pravát- "a sloping path, the slope of a mountain") + pušân p.pr. of pušândan, accusative of pôšidan, pôš- "to cover; to wear" (related to pust "skin, hide;" Mid.Pers. pôst; O.Pers. pavastā- "thin clay envelope used to protect unbaked clay tablets;" Skt. pavásta- "cover," Proto-Indo-Iranian *pauastā- "cloth").

The act of occupying; the state of being occupied.

Verbal noun of → occupy.

An observation when the telescope is pointed away from the source in order to measure the sky background contribution.

→ off-; → source; → observation.

1) A loss of electric energy due to conversion into heat when a current flows through a resistance. Same as Ohmic loss.
2) In plasma physics, the energy released by charged particles as they make collisions with other particles.

→ Ohmic; → dissipation.

A population of stars in a stellar system that have definitely left the → main sequence.

→ old; → stellar; → population.

Preliminary reduction of observational data at a telescope simultaneously with their acquisition.

→ on-line; → reduction.

In comparison with → off-source observation, an observation which is concerned with the source itself.

→ on-; → dource; → observation.

An approximation in the treatment of photoionized → H II regions, whereby secondary ionizing photons are absorbed immediately very close to their site of emission. The secondary photons, produced by → radiative recombinations directly to the → ground states, are thus ignored with respect to the ionizing photons emitted by the → exciting star. The OTS approximation requires that the ionized gas be sufficiently dense so that secondary ionizing photons are very likely absorbed within the H II region.

→ on; → spot; → approximation.

Nazdineš, → approximation; dar "in," from Mid.Pers. andar, → intra-.

A hypothetical flow in which all the flow parameters may be expressed as functions of time and one space coordinate only. This single space coordinate is usually the distance measured along the center-line of some conduit in which the fluid is flowing (B. Massey, Mechanics of Fluids, Taylor & Francis, 2006).

→ one; → dimensional; → flow.

A plant, Allium cepa, of the amaryllis family, having an edible, succulent, pungent bulb (Dictionary.com).

M.E., from Anglo-French union, O.Fr. oignon "onion," from L. unio-, also "pearl," literally "one, unity;" sense connection is the successive layers of an onion.

Mid.Pers. payâz, payâc; cf. Sogd. piyâk "onion," Yidgha piq, Vakhi piûk, Yazghulami piyeq, Kurd. pivaz; maybe related to PIE *peuk- "to prick, to sting, to stab," because of its pungent taste; cf. Gk. peukos "sting, prick, cusp, peak."

1) General: An act or instance, process, or manner of functioning or operating.
2a) Math.: A mathematical process, as addition, multiplication, or differentiation.
2b) The action of applying a mathematical process to a quantity or quantities.
3) Computers: An action resulting from a single instruction.

Verbal noun of → operate

Pertaining to a process or series of actions for achieving a result.

Adj. of → operation.

A method of mathematical analysis which in many cases makes it possible to reduce the study of differential operators, pseudo-differential operators and certain types of integral operators, and the solution of equations containing them, to an examination of simpler algebraic problems. It is also known as operational analysis.

→ operational; → calculus.

In the philosophy of science, the view that → concepts are defined in terms of measuring operations which determine their applicability. Same as operationism.

→ operation; → -ism.

1) A belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2) A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
3) Law: The formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case (Dictionary.com).

M.E., from O.Fr., from L. opinion- "opinion, conjecture; appreciation," from opinari "to think, judge, suppose," from PIE *op- "to choose."

Pažân, from Pashto pažân / pêžân, from prefix- pa-, originally *pati-, + žân variant of Pers. dân-, dânestan "to know," zân as in farzâne "intelligent, wise;" Balochi zân, Kurd. zân "to know;" cf. Sogd. patzân, Khotanese paysân- "to know;" Yidgha and Munji vəzân "to know;" Yizghulami vəzan, Yaghnobi bīzon, Sarigholi pajan, Ormuri pazán "to know;" Av. paiti-zan- "to recognize, acknowledge, appreciate;" from prefix paiti- + zan- "to know, have knowledge;" Mod.Pers. dân-, dânestan "to know," variant šenâxtan "to know, recognize," → science.

1) The action of opposing, resisting, or combating.
2) A person or group of people opposing, criticizing, or protesting something, someone, or another group (Dictionary.com).
3) The position of a solar system body having its orbit outside that of the Earth when the Earth is in a line between the Sun and the body. At opposition the body has a solar → elongation of 180°, and is closest to the Earth. It will, in principle, be visible throughout the night. It will rise in the east as the Sun sets in the west and it will set as the Sun rises. This is because, at opposition, the body and the Sun are 12 hours apart. The inner planets can never be in opposition. The opposite of opposition is → conjunction.
4) Two periodic quantities of the same frequency are said to be in opposition when the → phase difference between them is one half of a → period.

Verbal noun of → oppose.

Pâdist "standing against," from pâd- "agaist, contrary to," → anti-, + ist present stem of istâdan "to stand" (Mid.Pers. êstâtan, O.Pers./Av. sta- "to stand; to set;" Av. hištaiti; cf. Skt. sthâ- "to stand;" Gk. histemi "put, place, weigh," stasis "a standing still;" L. stare "to stand;" Lith. statau "place;" Goth. standan; PIE base *sta- "to set, stand").
Pâdistân, from pâdist + -ân suffix of place and time.