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

The component of general precession caused by the gravitational attraction of the planets on the Earth's center of mass. It causes the equinox to move eastward by about 0''.12 per year in the opposite direction to the → precession of the equator. This terminology replaces → planetary precession, according to an IAU resolution adopted in August 2006.

→ precession; → ecliptic.

That component of general precession caused by the combined effect of the Moon, the Sun and the planets on the equatorial protuberance of the Earth, producing a westward motion of the equinoxes along the ecliptic about 50'' per year. According to an IAU resolution adopted in August 2006, the present terminology replaces lunisolar precession.

→ precession; → equator.

The slow motion of the equinoxes along the ecliptic, resulting from the combined motion of the equator (→ precession of the equator) and the ecliptic (→ precession of the ecliptic), or in other words the precession of the Earth's axis of rotation. Also know as → general precession. The First Point of Aries moves westward along the ecliptic at 50.38 arcseconds per year (1 degree every 71.6 years), causing the equinoxes to occur about twenty minutes earlier each sidereal year. See also → nutation.

→ precession; → equinox.

The gradual change in he orbital planes of a binary system.

→ precession; → node.

The interval with which a rotating body precesses. The precession period of the Earth is 25,770 years. For a → spinning top it is given by: T_p = (4π²I)/(mgrT_s), where I is the → moment of inertia, m the mass of the top, g gravity, r the distance between the center of mass and the contact point, and T_s is the spinning period of the top.

→ precession; → period.

A time interval over which an orbit precesses by 2π radians in its plane.

→ precession; → time.

Of or pertaing to → precession.

→ precession; → -al.

The path of either → celestial poles around the → ecliptic pole due to the → precession of equinox. It takes about 26,000 years for the celestial pole to complete path.

→ precessional; → circle.

1) Meteo.: Any form of water, such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail, that falls to the Earth's surface. The quantity of such water falling in a specific area within a specific period.
2) Chemistry: The process of separating a solid substance from a solution.

From M.Fr. précipitation, from L. præcipitationem "act or fact of falling headlong, haste," from præcipitare "fall, be hasty," from præceps "steep, headlong, headfirst," from præ- "forth" + caput, → head.

1) Bâreš, verbal noun of bâridan "to rain," bârân "rain;" Mid.Pers. vâritan, vârân; Av. vār- "rain; to rain;" cf. Skt. vār- "rain, water; to rain;" PIE base *uer- "water, rain, river."
Rizeš, verbal noun of rixtan "to flow, to pour," → overflow.
2) Tahnešast "to settle down, precipitate," from tah "→ bottom, end;" + nešast past stem of nešastan "to sit down; to settle down; to sink," → sit.

1) Definitely or sharply stated, or defined.
2) Designating → precision.
See also: → accurate, → exact.

M.E., from M.Fr. précis "cut short" from M.L. precisus, from L. præcisus "abridged, cut off," p.p. of præcidere "to cut off, shorten," from præ- "in front," → pre-, + cædere "to cut down, chop, beat, hew, slay."

Parsun literally "cut around" (compare with Skt. pariccheda "precise, accurate definition, exact discrimination," from pari- + cheda "cut, cutting off," from chid- "to cut, split"), from par-, variant of pirâ- "around, about," → peri-, + sun "to cut;" cf. Kurd. Sorani su, sun "to sharpen, whet;" Kurd. Kurmanji (prefixed ha-, contraction of *ham-) hasun "to sharpen, whet;" Mod.Pers. sân "whetstone," variants fasân, afsân, awsân; Av. si-, sā- "to cut;" cf. Skt. śā- "to sharpen, whet" (see also → concrete).

In a precise manner.

→ precise; → -ly.

The quality or state of being very accurate.

→ precise; → -ness.

1) The state or quality of being → precise.
2) The degree to which repeated measurements of a quantity give the same results under unchanged conditions. Not the same as → accuracy, but often confused as such. See → accuracy for the difference between precision and accuracy.

Verbal noun from → precise.

1) A person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner.
2) A substance from which another is formed, especially by metabolic reaction (OxforddDctionaries.com)

M.E., from L. præcursor "forerunner," from præcursus, p.p. of præcurrere, from præ- "before," → pre-, + currere "to run," → current.

Pišgâm, from piš- "before," → pre-, + gâm "step, pace," → stage.

A component of a → pulsar pulse that appears shortly in advance of the main pulse.

→ precursor; → pulse.

1) Act of plundering or robbing; predatory behavior.
2) The preying of one animal on others.

Verbal noun, → prey.

Zoology: Any organism that exists by preying upon other organisms (Dictionary.com).

Agent noun from → prey.

1) Of, or relating to a predator.
2) Living by preying on other living animals.

Agent noun from → prey.

1a) Grammar: The part of a → sentence or → clause stating something about the → subject and usually consisting of a → verb. For example, in the sentence "The man opened the door," the subject is "the man" and the predicate is "opened the door."
1b) Logic: Something which is affirmed or denied concerning the subject in a → proposition.

1c) Math.: A → function whose values are statements about n-tuples of objects forming the values of its → arguments. For n =1 a predicate is called a "property" , for n> 1 a → relation; propositions may be regarded as zero-place predicates (encyclopediaofmath.org).
2a) To state, affirm, or assert (something) about the subject of a proposition.
2b) To make (a term, expression, etc.) the predicate of a proposition.

M.E., from M.Fr. predicat, from L. praedicatus "declared, proclaimed," p.p. of praedicare, from prae "beforehand," → pre-, + dicare "proclame," from stem of dicere "to speak, to say," from PIE root *deik- "to point out, to show," cognate with Pers. dis, → form, and andišidan, → think.

Farâsan from farâ- "before; toward, along; above, upon, over," → pro-, + san Proto-Ir. *sanh- "to declare, explain," related to soxan, → speech and pâsox, → response, sahân, → sentence.

The generic term for systems of → formal logic like → first-order logic and → second-order logic. Predicate logic contains → variables which can be quantified (→ quantify, → quantification).

→ predicate; → logic.