armillary, a. and n.
(ˈɑːmɪlərɪ, ɑːˈmɪlərɪ)
[mod. f. L. armilla; cf. Fr. armillaire. Bailey and Chambers cite a mod.L. armillāris. See -ary.]
A. adj. Of or pertaining to bracelets or hoops. armillary sphere: a skeleton celestial globe or sphere, consisting merely of metal rings or hoops representing the equator, ecliptic, tropics, arctic and antarctic circles, and colures, revolving on an axis, within a wooden horizon.
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. iii. 169 All the Circles of the Armillary Sphære. 1703 J. Harris Descr. Globes (J.) That sphere is called an armillary sphere, because it appears in the form of several circular rings. 1797 Encycl. Brit. II. 420/2 An armillary astrolabe, like that which had been used by Hipparchus and Ptolemy. 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1843) II. 297 Never had any armillary sphere so many zones. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh viii. 56 Her quadrant and armillary dials. |
B. n. = armilla 4.
| 1841 Brewster Martyrs Sc. ii. ii. (1856) 123 Equatorial armillaries. |