spherical

Etymology

English spheric + -al (see sphere), from Latin sphericus (+ -al), from Ancient Greek σφαιρικός (sphairikós).

adj

  1. (geometry) Shaped like a sphere.
    The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight. 2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist
  2. (geometry, not comparable) Of, or pertaining to, spheres.
  3. (mathematics) Of a coordinate system, specifying the location of a point in a plane by using a radius and two angles.
  4. (astrology) Of or relating to the heavenly orbs, or to the sphere or spheres in which, according to ancient astronomy and astrology, they were set.

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