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

Same as → Riemannian geometry.

→ Riemannian; → geometry.

Of or pertaining to Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866) or his mathematics findings. → Riemannian geometry, → Riemannian manifold, → Riemannian metric, → Riemann problem, → Riemann curvature tensor.

After the German mathematician Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866), the inventor of the elliptic form of → non-Euclidean geometry, who made important contributions to analysis and differential geometry, some of them paving the way for the later development of → general relativity.

A → non-Euclidean geometry in which there are no → parallel lines, and the sum of the → angles of a → triangle is always greater than 180°. Riemannian figures can be thought of as figures constructed on a curved surface. The geometry is called elliptic because the section formed by a plane that cuts the curved surface is an ellipse.

→ Riemannian; → geometry.

A → manifold on which there is a defined → Riemannian metric (Douglas N. Clark, 2000, Dictionary of Analysis, Calculus, and Differential Equations).

→ Riemannian; → metric.

A positive-definite inner product, (.,.)_x, on T_x(M), the tangent space to a manifold M at x, for each x  ∈ M, which varies continually with x (Douglas N. Clark, Dictionary of Analysis, Calculus, and Differential Equations).

→ Riemannian; → metric.

1) General: a gap or break made by splitting, cleaving, etc.; fissure; cleft.
2) Geology: A narrow cleft, fissure, or other opening in rock, made by cracking or splitting.
3) Geology: An elongated trough in the Earth's crust bounded by → faults.

M.E., from a Scandinavian source; cf. Dan., Norw. rift "a cleft."

1) Câk "fissure, rupture, cleft, crack," related to caqidan "to drive a nail, strike together, fix a spike;" caxidan "to quarrel, strive;" diatectal Shughni cuγ, Roshani coγ "breaking, tearing, ripping up;" Malâyeri ceqidan "cracking of a cold porcelain bowl when receiving hot water;" Yazghulami cok-, coxt "to pound, to stamp;" Wakhi cuk-, cukt "to strike;" Ossetic cædyn "to shake, strike iron;" Lori cok "a mark fixed to separate two grounds;" Sogd. cax "to battel, fight;" Mid.Pers. (prefixed) pacên "copy" (see also Cheung 2007). Gosal-darré, from gosal, → fault, + darré, → valley.

A long, narrow valley formed by the lowering of land between two → faults. Also called → graben.

→ rift; → valley.

The brightest star in the constellation → Orion (visual magnitude 0.18). A → blue supergiant of type B8 Iab with an initial mass of 17 solar masses, Rigel is 773 light-years away, and actually shines with the light of 40,000 Suns. It is accompanied by a fairly bright, seventh magnitude companion nine seconds of arc apart. The companion is itself double, the components much fainter and much less massive → main sequence stars of type B.

Rigel "foot," short for Ar. rijl al-jauza' (رجل‌الجوزاء) "the foot of jauza'." The latter word means "the manifest one," initially "black sheep with white middle." The Gk. figure was translated as such because of its conspicuousness among other constellations.

Rejl, from Ar., as above.

Same as the star → Alpha Centauri.

From Ar. Rijl al-Qanturis "foot of Centaurus," from rijl "foot," + Qanturis Arabicized → Centaurus.

Pâ-ye Kantawros, "foot of Centaurus," from pâ, → foot, + Kentawros, → Centaurus.

1a) Straight, free from curves, angles, or irregularities. → right ascension.
1b) Opposite of → left. → right-hand rule, → right-hand screw rule.
2) In accordance with fact, reason, or truth; correct or true.
3) Something that a person is or should be morally or legally allowed to have, get, or do (Merriam-Webster).

M.E.; O.E. reht, riht; cf. O.H.G. reht, Ger. recht, O.N. rettr, Goth. raihts; P.Gmc. *rekhtaz, cognate with Pers. râst, as below.

1) Râst "right, true; just, upright, straight;" Mid.Pers. râst "true, straight, direct;" Soghdian rəšt "right;" O.Pers. rāsta- "straight, true," rās- "to be right, straight, true;" Av. rāz- "to direct, put in line, set," razan- "order;" related to Mid.Pers. rây-, râyênitan "to arrange;" Mod.Pers. raj "line, row," variants raž, rak, râk, rezg (Lori), radé, râdé "line, rule, row," rasté, râsté "row, a market with regular ranges of shops;" ris, risé "straight;" cf. Skt. raj- "to direct, stretch," rjuyant- "walking straight;" Gk. orektos "stretched out;" L. regere "to lead straight, guide, rule," p.p. rectus "right, straight;" PIE base *reg- "move in a straight line," hence, "to direct, rule;"
2) Dorost "correct, whole, complete, healthy," → integral.
3) Râšan, related to râst, as above; cf. Mid.Pers. Rašn "Justice deity; calendar 18th day;" Av. rašnu- "the Zoroastrian Justice deity, orientation."

An angle of 90°.

→ right; → angle.

A coordinate in the → equatorial system measured from the → vernal equinox eastward to the point where the object → hour circle intersects the → celestial equator. Right ascension (symbol α) is expressed in hours, minutes, and seconds. See also: → declination.

→ right; ascension, M.E. ascencioun, from O.Fr., from L. ascendere "to climb up," from → ad- "to" + scandere "to climb."

Râst, → right; afrâz present stem of afrâzidan, afrâštan "to raise, exalt, extole," from Mid.Pers. abrâstan, abrâz- "to lift, raise," from ab-, from O.Pers./Av. abiy-/aiwi- "to, upon, against;" cf. Skt. abhi-, Gk. amphi- + râst "straight, direct, true;" from O.Pers. rāsta- "straight, true," rās- "to be right, straight, true;" Av. rāz- "to direct, put in line, set," razan- "order;" cf. Skt. raj- "to direct, stretch," rjuyant- "walking straight;" Gk. orektos "stretched out;" L. regere "to lead straight, guide, rule," p.p. rectus "right, straight;" Ger. recht; E. right; PIE base *reg- "move in a straight line," hence, "to direct, rule."

A triangle one of whose angles is a → right angle.

→ right; → triangle.

See → Fleming's rules.

→ right; → hand; → rule.

A rule that gives the direction of the resultant vector in a → vector product: A x B = C. It is the direction of advance of a right-hand screw whose axis, held perpendicular to the plane of A and B, is rotated in the same sense that rotates the first-named vector (A) into the second-named vector B through the smaller angle.

→ right; → hand; → screw; → rule.

Using the right hand with greater skill or ease than the left.

→ right; → hand + -ed.

Râstâl, from râst, → right, + -al→ -al. Râstdast, with dast, → hand.

1) General: Stiff or unyielding; inflexible, strict, severe.
2) Physics: → rigid body; → rigidity.

From L. rigidus "hard, stiff, rough," from rigere "to be stiff;" related to L. frigus "cold," Gk. rhigos "frost, cold."

Saxtpây, from saxt, → hard, + pây present stem of pâyidan "to stand firm, to be constant, steady, fixed;" Mid.Pers. pâyitan, pâtan, pây- "to protect; wait, stand," Sogdian p'y "to protect, watch over;" O.Pers./Av. pâ(y)- "to protect, keep" pâtar- "protector, watcher," cf. Skt. pâ- "to protect, keep," pâti "protects;" Gk. poimen "shepherd," poma "lid, cover;" L. pastor "shepherd," panis "bread;" PIE base *pa- "to protect, guard, pasture, feed."

Mechanics: A system of many particles whose positions relative to one another remain fixed.

→ rigid; → body.

1) The quality or state of being → rigid. See also → modulus of rigidity.
2) → magnetic rigidity.

→ rigid + → -ity.

Another name of → Alpha Centauri.

Rigel, from Ar. rijl (رجل) "foot;" Kentaurus, → Centaurus.

Pâ "foot, step" (from Mid.Pers. pâd, pây; Av. pad- "foot;" cf. Skt. pat; Gk. pos, genitive podos; L. pes, genitive pedis; P.Gmc. *fot; E. foot; Ger. Fuss; Fr. pied; PIE *pod-/*ped-); Kentâwros→ Centaurus.